The Aftermath
by jessbsrq
Summary: Set shortly after New York - what happened next? Brittana/Faberry
1. Chapter 1

**Note: My first attempt, be gentle with me! ;)**

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><em>Anything is possible<em>

For the umpteenth time Santana growled in frustration at those words and that memory, the sound incoherent and muffled against her pillow. She lay face down in her double bed splayed across it's length - she lifted her head up slightly with as little effort as possible and glanced at the digital display to her left;

the time read 2:35am

Another sound passed her lips, but this time it was more of a groan than a growl. She was still fully clothed and, although her black leather boots were extremely irritating, she had yet to remove those either. She was uncomfortable, but not uncomfortable enough to do anything about it. She was exhausted, but not exhausted enough to fall asleep - it was just so fucking annoying! Her brain was working overtime, her thoughts focusing on one thing alone and those thoughts were making everything else in her life redundant and impossible to care about...

She reached her hand up and smirked in satisfaction as her first made a jarring connection with the jet black wall in front of her, the excruciating pain in her hand was a welcome, momentary distraction -

"SANTANA!", she cringed as her father's bellow drifted into her room,

"That sound had better be you falling out of bed and NOT you punching holes in my beautiful house, AGAIN!"

She sighed, rolled over so that she was facing her door, cradled her now extremely sore hand and shouted back what she hoped sounded like a genuine apology. The walls in the Lopez home were relatively thin so Santana heard her father when he mumbled something about 'therapy' and a certain blonde ex-cheerleader to his wife. Santana's blood boiled and just as she got up to punch something other than her bedroom wall (i.e her father's face) her phone beeped, signalling that she had received a message. A small smile threatened, tugging the corners of her lips up ever so slightly, because she knew exactly who it was. Only one person would think it was okay to text Santana Lopez in the early hours of the morning without fear of serious, perhaps even fatal, consequences. She reached out for her phone with her good hand and flipped it up in one fluid, almost graceful, movement - then she did something she hadn't done in days, she laughed.

Quinn Fabray was pissed. She was pissed for numerous reasons. The first one being that her mother had used the last of the bacon this morning and then refused to go shopping, that is - until Quinn told her where she had hidden the bottle of Vodka she had tried to slip past her last night. Quinn often found herself wondering who the teenage girl was in her house, being black-mailed in your own home is never a good way to start the day, Quinn thought to herself. As well as this absurd, petty exchange with her mother - Quinn managed to get her newly cut short locks caught in her hoodie when she tried, and failed, to pull it off without unzipping it. This was followed by a lot of screaming and her Mum deciding that it was the funniest thing she'd seen in her life, leading to another argument and then resulting in being stuck in her clothing a lot longer than anyone should ever be. But these reasons were nothing really, she was properly and truly pissed because of Santana.

Ever since middle-school Quinn and Santana would set aside one day in the month, one day every month for going on 6 years now. Their little get together used to be held at the girl's houses but a few years back they decided a change was necessary - so they moved their monthly meeting to Breadstix. It was a constant, no matter what was happening in either of the girls' lives, they ALWAYS met at Breadstix on the last Thursday of every month. Even when they were having problems such as trying not to kill each other when their friendship wasn't exactly intact, they always managed to make it up before that Thursday. Sure, lately things had been getting worse rather than better - it even amounted to a physical fight a few months ago when Quinn regained her Head-cheerleader position through means of telling Coach Sylvester of Santana's summer escapades, effectively replacing Santana. But they talked, sort of worked it out, and by the time monthly meeting came around - it was like nothing had ever happened.

They were best friends, it may not have always been evident to everyone else around them - hell, even to each other sometimes, but nonetheless they knew each other better than they knew themselves most of the time. Which meant they had both talked eachother out of doing some extremely stupid things and encouraged each other when they knew the other was onto something good. It was like some sort of unbreakable bond,the kind that can pull you through the shit that happens constantly throughout high school, the kind that after each fight pulls you back together, whether you happy about it or not at the time. In simple terms, it was love. The sort of love you have for a best friend who knows not only everything about you - but your also all off your hopes, dreams and fears without even having to ask.

The conversation during these 'meetings' could range from what they had for breakfast, to philosophical and religious debates. Throughout middle-school and the start of high school, their conversations focused mainly on boys; who to get, how to get them - Quinn Fabray and Santana Lopez made quite a formidable boy-snatching team. Well, they made quite a formidable anything-team as many McKinley High students knew. When they were together and on form they were practically unstoppable. But then when the joined Glee Club, as they grew up and matured the issues became a lot more serious; pregnancy, betrayal, sexuality, Brittany.

So when Santana failed to show, and made Quinn look like she'd been stood up or something - all Quinn wanted to do was sucker-punch the waiter who was shooting her 'sympathetic-but-also-judging-and-also-sort-of-eying-her-up' looks in the crotch. Then she chastised herself for being so dramatic and needlessly angry, that was Lopez's job. She threw the waiter a signature sweet Quinn Fabray smile to ease her conscience as she stormed out of Breadstix an hour and a half after the time Santana and herself had agreed on a week prior, just before they set of for New York for Nationals.

So Quinn waited until 2:45 am exactly, then hit the send button with a little more force than necessary - smiling smugly to herself in the darkness of her room as she re-read the text.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: I'd already written this chapter - that's why it's such a quick update! Don't be expecting that every chapter... Reviews would be nice please ;)**

**LATER THE SAME DAY**

Brittany was confused, like, maths confused. Except this was more confusing, and Brittany never really liked maths. She never really understood why... Why did 1 +1 have to = 2? Who says it couldn't make pie, or red? Pie... Brittany was pretty hungry - she could kill for a piece of Mrs. Lopez's cherry pie. As soon as the thought popped into her head her face fell into a frown (something that seemed to be happening a lot lately) and her bottom lip jutted out in an act of disgruntlement. She could hardly barge through Santana's front door demanding pie, especially since they hadn't spoken since the last day of school. Brittany absentmindedly picked at the flaking white paint at the foot of her bed as she tried to focus on how to fit all of Lord Tubbington's clothes in the small suitcase with her own before they left for Brittany's Grandma's house , even with this diversion - Brittany couldn't help but let her mind drift back to Friday...

**FLASHBACK**

_The Glee club were all sat in the choir room for their last meeting of the year, everyone had settled down for the time being and they had all slouched down into their red plastic chairs - waiting for Mr. Schue to begin his inevitable 'it's not about the winning' speech and yadder on about the club's progress. Neither girl were giving the teacher their full attention. Santana had a far out look in her eyes and hadn't said anything remotely bitchy for a good while, or said anything at all for that matter. Although clearly lost in her own thoughts she did notice that Finn and Rachel were sitting awfully close and that Finn was looking exceedingly proud of himself, like he'd just won a prize ham or something. Whereas Rachel's expression was shifting from apprehensive to guilty, not that Finn noticed or cared, he didn't seem to notice anyone but himself nowadays Santana thought to herself snorting lightly in disgust. Brittany was thinking too, but again - she wasn't completely oblivious to what was happening around her. Quinn's chair was pulled up close to her own so Brittany couldn't help but notice Quinn's eyes drifting towards the newly reunited Finn and Rachel. Just like she couldn't help but notice Quinn trying to conceal the solitary tears she had shed after they had both witnessed the kiss in the library,and how Quinn practically dragged Brittany along when she sprinted towards the choir room to make it before the couple left the library. Naturally Brittany had assumed Quinn was upset because of her on-off up-down relationship with Finn. But again, Brittany couldn'y help but notice that Quinn was quite obvioulsy trying to catch Rachel's eye - not Finn's. When Quinn and Rachel finally did make eye contact, Brittany couldn't help but notice a look of profound guilt on Rachel's side and of undisguised hurt on Quinn's. Usually when Brittany saw these sort of things she would go straight to Santana and everything she couldn't help but notice but couldn't make any sense of at all - became crystal clear. Nobody could explain things to Brittany quite like Santana could, her words quickly pierced the hazy cloud of confusion that often threatened to overpower Brittany. But latley Brittany noticed that Santana looked busy and thoughtful a lot and she never wanted to interrupt her - today was no exception. Today was a little different though, because Brittany knew exactly what was making Santana's eyes glaze over in pensive thought because it was exactly what Brittany was pondering only a few moments ago, she sighed. Realizing that she probably wasn't going to figure out the Rachel/Quinn incident without the help of Santana she reluctantly looked away from the curious exchange._

_As Mr Schue rambled on about Nationals and how '12th place isn't so bad' Brittany replayed her own speech about family and the resulting conversation with Santana back in her head. She was mostly trying to keep from forgetting, because she knew that her memory wasn't the best and that she probably would have forgotten most of the encounter by tomorrow morning, and she really didn't want that._

**PRESENT DAY**

Brittany laughed to herself as she lay on the bed next to her open suitcase - the small sound not even reaching the wall to mockingly echo back at her, it made her feel lonely. She reached for Lord Tubbington and placed him on her lap for some much needed physical contact. She was laughing at herself because the memory of her memory proved shockingly accurate as all she seemed to remember from her 'the Glee club is family' speech was something about Asian babies. she did however remember, and probably always would, the four words that mattered the most;

_"I love you, Santana.."_

Brittany certainly wasn't laughing anymore in fact she was probably closer to crying. She tried desperately to recall any part of her last day of school before summer, anything that didn't involve Santana - but nothing presented itself. Well that wasn't entirely true, a memory did come to the forefront of her mind but it was a memory she'd been trying desperately to avoid. The goodbye.


	3. Chapter 3

**Note: Sorry, this chapter is extremely short. It's because I've worked out roughly what's going to happen in each chapter and this 'scene' was a lot shorter than I originally thought it would be!**

**A review would be really nice please, feedback = food for writing.**

**Oh and thanks for reading )**

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><p><strong>FLASHBACK<strong>

_Brittany stood in front of her locker, took a quick look around and threw the Voodoo doll Santana had made of Rachel into the practically empty locker. Brittany had managed to discreetly take it and hide it from Santana, who had been talking to Artie when they'd first entered the choir room before Mr. Schue had come in. She didn't want Rach to see it because it would probably hurt her feelings. Brittany really liked Rachel, not that she'd let on just how much in front of Santana because it would most likely result in her being even meaner to Rachel than she already was. Brittany jumped letting out a small squeak when she felt a presence behind her. Thinking it was Santana - she quickly slammed her locker shut._  
><em>"Hey! Karen-with-lower-IQ, where's Gretchen-fake-boobs and Regina-with-stretch-marks?"<em>  
><em>Brittany mentally kicked herself again for ever mentioning Mean Girls to Coach Sylvester,<em>  
><em>"Oh, I um - I'm not sure coach..."<em>  
><em>"That's Mrs. Sylvester to you now, blondie. Well, anyway. I just wanted to tell you, Q and boobs-mcGee to keep in shape this summer. Oh and whatever you do, don't throw away your Cheerio's uniforms..."<em>  
><em>It took Brittany a few seconds to work out what Sue meant - by the time she had, Sue was already swaggering down the corridor. Brittany smiled to herself and turned back towards her locker. The school corridors were mostly empty now - so when Santana appeared from around the corner, Brittany was able to meet her soft gaze and hold it until Santana stopped about a meter in front of her. Brittany's light blue eyes softened when she saw pain in the choclate brown ones opposite her. The same engaging brown eyes she often found herself getting lost in, the same eyes that made her forget herself whenever they held her own, the same eyes that did funny things to her insides when they were hooded with lust. Brittany wanted to break the silence, it wasn't like it was awkward but Brittany had the feeling that Santana needed to say something and was too scared to initiate the conversation. The problem was Brittany didn't know what to say, so she settled for an anti-climatic<em>  
><em>"Hey..." <em>_Santana smiled, she knew exactly what Brittany was doing, the smile didn't reach her eyes though - something Brittany didn't fail to notice, __"Hey Britt, I just wanted to say bye, I know that you're going to Nanna P's on Sunday, so..." __Her voice wavered slightly, but Brittany was distracted by Santana's outstretched arms and expectant expression. Brittany stepped into the familiar embrace with almost no hesitation. Santana encircled Brittany, her strong muscular arms practically clinging onto Brittany's neck. Brittany's arms automatically went around Santana's waist and she linked her hands before gently placing them on the small of Santana's back - a place she knew like the back of her hand. Both girls had closed their eyes, the physical contact between them wasn't anything new, but it just felt...different. The hug was sort of an amalgamation of everything that had happened these past two years. They both felt it, so when Brittany pulled the girl in tighter Santana didn't protest. But it was hard . The skin on skin, the feeling of their bodies tightly clung together, it made the memories of them together come flooding back; all of their late night encounters, moans and shouts of pleasure, whispered promises in the light of the early morning. No matter what, hugging Santana always left Brittany almost breathless. She was powerless to prevent the jump of her stomach and the flush of heat that spread through her body like fire, __"I'll speak to before then, I'll call you..." Brittany whispered softly turning her head ever so slightly, plush lips gently brushing against Santana's ear. At any other time the contact would have undoubtedly aroused Santana, especially remembering where Brittany's mouth used to travel after her lips tickled her ear like that... But her libido was the last thing on Santana's mind right now. She disengaged her arms which took some mental effort and Brittany followed suit, stepping away to regard Santana's face. She was clearly avoiding eye contact though - looking anywhere but the sea of piercing blue she new she'd find if she looked up, __"Don't..." The word came out as softly as a breath, so quiet that Brittany wasn't even sure Santana had said anything. Still avoiding Brittany's perceptive gaze, Santana turned briskly on the spot and just walked away. Brittany watched Santana's quickly retreating form - she could see the muscles tighten in Santana's neck, something Brittany knew only happened when Santana was holding back tears. Brittany stood motionless and dumbfounded until she saw Santana round the corner and disappear out of sight. Even then it took a few moments until she could even blink again..._

**PRESENT DAY**

_"Don't..."_

Don't what exactly? Don't call Santana before she goes to her Grandma's? Don't call Santana whilst she was at her Grandma's? Don't call Santana at all? These questions were the sole cause of Brittany's confusion. Nevertheless, Brittany did as she was told. Not one to ignore a request from the person that matters most to her. She didn't call - because Santana didn't want her to. She had been trying to avoid asking herself why, especially since she'd practically bared her soul only an hour or so before Santana's whispered plea. So she was extremely grateful when her mum called up to her,  
>"Brittany, honey - someone at the door for you!"<p>

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><p><strong><em>P.S - please pretend the Mean Girls reference didn't happen, idk why I wanted to slip that in there!<em>**


	4. Chapter 4

**Note: This took a while for two reasons; first one being it was uncharacteristically warm over the weekend and I was forced outdoors, the second being that I found this chapter extremely difficult to write - due to my lack of experience with pretty much all of the issues raised, so I truly do apologize if it's insensitive in any way. **

**Oh and I'm not insulting anyones intelligence with putting the days up - I confused myself and so had to keep track, I'm an idiot like that.**

**Again, thank you very much for reading - I actually can't believe even 1 person has read so much as the first paragraph!**

**Reviews would be extra nice ;)**

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><p><strong>THE NEXT DAY (FRIDAY)<strong>

Santana knew Brittany was leaving today, she went on the same day every summer. She almost ran over there this morning just to catch Brittany and give her a proper goodbye, to tell her that everything was going to be okay with them. But she remembered why she'd told Brittany not to contact her in the first place, because she couldn't promise everything was going to be okay - far from it. She needed space, space to think and figure herself out before she dragged brittany into this mess. Santana wanted to be sure of everything before she even contemplated a relationship. It wasn't that she didn't want to be with Brittany, it was the opposite - she wanted that more than anything. But she knew she owed it to Brittany and to herself to find out who she was. She had so many feelings and she just needed to deal with them properly before she acted on anything. Having said that, it was still hard to stay away for so long. She missed Brittany so much it physically hurt, it was such a cliche but she didn't know how else to describe the pain she felt. It was even worse knowing that she'd left Brittany with no explanation or promise to come straight back to her when she'd sorted her shit out, which was exactly what she intended to do.

Santana was perched on the edge of her bed and had been in the same position since about an hour ago. Because around that time she had remembered something Quinn had said at Breadstix a few months back now,

"I think what you need to do first, before you talk to Brittany about feelings and whatever else your planning on doing, is find out for sure your sexual orientation..."

At the time Santana scoffed at the idea, why couldn't she just be Santana in love with Brittany? Why was Quinn suggesting she a put a label on herself that would succeed in only making life in high school a living nightmare? But now, after thinking about it for some time, she'd come to see how it could help her. Acceptance, acceptance was the way to start understanding yourself better right? Santana thought to herself. That was it, Santana resolved to make that her first step... She smiled to herself slightly, her mood improving with the prospect of actually doing something to get just that bit closer to Brittany.

The good mood didn't last long however, she was muttering curses under her breath only 10 minutes after her little epiphany. She lay defeated and deflated on her bed, when she heard a familiar voice downstairs. Santana smirked but kept her eyes closed as she heard impatient footsteps halt at the side of her bed. It was a few minutes before anyone spoke,

"How long do I have to stand here before you acknowledge my presence, your highness?"

Quinn's sharp inquiry coupled with the strong mental picture Santana had of her with her hands on her hips, drumming her fingers against her side impatiently made Santana snigger,

"Until you do something that's worth opening my eyes for, Fabray.."

It was a challenge Quinn was all to willing to rise to in her current mood -

Santana heard the slap before she felt it,

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

Santana's eyes shot open finding only a unsympathetic angelic smile hovering above her eerily,

"Got your attention now, Lopez?"

Quinn's voice was a perfect mimicry of Santana's,

"I suppose I deserved that...At least you didn't 'strip me naked and parade me around the school whilst shouting this is my bitch', that was the gist of you text, wasn't it?"

Quinn's eyebrows pulled together in confusion, no retaliation? An almost apology? Something was very, very wrong,

"Okay, what's up?"

Quinn asked, joining Santana on the edge of the bed,

"A lot of shit is 'up'.."

Santana exhaled slowly and heavily, running her fingers through her hair,

"yeah well, same here San. But you'd know that already if you'd showed last night -"

"I'M SORRY, OKAY!"

Santana interjected angrily before sighing and continuing as softly as she could manage without wanting to gag,

"What's going on with you then?"

"It's too late now - you've missed you chance!"

Quinn winked slyly and nudged Santana lightly with her shoulder,

"Oh come on! You're being stupid, we are actually allowed to talk about stuff on other days you know!"

"Nope, shame really - it's actually a pretty big deal..."

Santana just grunted and crossed her arms over her chest - knowing that pushing it further wouldn't get her anywhere, she knew how annoyingly stubborn Quinn could be. She'd just have to work it out on her own, something she'd gotten pretty damn good at. After a few moments of comfortable silence between the pair Santana started to speak,

"Before you came in I was thinking about what you said that time, you know? The 'coming to terms with you sexuality' shit?"

"Hmm?"

Quinn said as little as possible in answer, not wanting to scare Santana out of a rare moment of sharing,

"Well, I was thinking that was the key - you know? The key to starting to sort out the mess in my head? I got all pumped because I was like, finally, a bit closer to becoming a good enough person to be with her -"

Quinn had opened her mouth. She was about to protest, to say that Santana and Brittany not only deserved each other, but that they were perfect for each other. To say that Santana was blind if she couldn't see what was so blatantly obvious to everyone else around them. But before she could even utter a syllable, Santana stopped her,

"No, Shut up. I'm not done yet, and I don't want to her any of your 'you're a good person' bullshit.."

Quinn pursed her lips and nodded her head in concurrence, signaling for Santana to go on,

"Like I was saying... I got all excited, but then I realized I had no fucking idea how to do it!"

"You mean, figure out whether or not you're a lesbian?"

Quinn prodded gently, Santana only nodded so Quinn continued,

"Well, can't you like, draw from past experience? I mean, you've slept with both sexes..."

"That's hardly and option. I was always to wasted to remember anything aside from the fact we'd had sex with the boys and I'm in love with B, so it's meant to feel amazing isn't it? I don't know, I never really enjoyed making out with guys - it was all sort of mechanical like 'oh, I need to put my hand here now' or 'this is when I slip my tongue in his mouth' and again, they only girl I have to compare that with is Britt and well, the stupid love thing applies again doesn't it?"

Without any warning whatsoever, Quinn launched herself at Santana - aggressively attaching her lips to the stunned girl. Santana pulled away immediately,

"QUINN!WHAT THE HELL!"

Santana practically shreiked with the shock of it all,

"Shut up and think about what we've just this second been talking about. I'm trying to help you out so let me, before I change my mind!"

Quinn had a look of steely resolve in her eyes as she leaned in yet again, placing her hands firmly on Santana's shoulders. When their lips collided a second time, Santana remained unresponsive - she had a horrible niggling feeling, as if she were somehow cheating on Brittany. But then she did what Quinn had suggested, she thought about the conversation they had just had - and what she had been so excited about earlier. Her heart warmed a little when she realized what Quinn was trying to do with the kiss, she was just being a good friend - in an extremely strange way. So she let herself forget that niggling feeling, she accepted the kiss for what it a was - a friend helping her find herself. She just went with her natural instincts - and they were telling her to kiss Quinn back, so she did. Hesitantly at first she began moving her lips against Quinn's and she noted for the first time how deliciously soft they were. The hesitance disappeared almost instantly, it turned into something like want - Santana was vaguely aware of her hands, moving of their own accord, grappling Quinn's small waist. Santana ignored the thoughts bouncing around in her head about how this wsa Quinn and this totally and utterly wrong and focused on how the kiss made her feel. It felt good. There was a need for proximity which was never there when she made out with any boy, there was want for more that was also absent with boys and then finally there was slight throb between her legs that had started to develop as the kisses got heavier and more heated. Now that definitely never happened when she was with boys. Of course it was nothing compared to the passionate need she felt when she kissed Brittany, that was on another level... Santana immediately chastised herself for thinking of Brittany but felt better when she remembered - this was for her, this was part of the journey she had to make in order to be with her. Santana relaxed back into the kiss, surprised that Quinn hadn't pulled away yet, in fact she thought she just felt.. her tongue? No, oh yep - that was definitely Quinn Fabray's tongue on my lower lip and damn did that feel good, thought Santana granting Quinn access. If Santana weren't distracted by, well, other things - she would have laughed at the way their tongues fought for dominance EVERYTHING had to be competition with them! They're bodies were tightly pressed together at this point - Quinn's arms had moved from Santana's shoulders and were locked behind her neck. Somewhere in a small corner of her mind that wasn't in the gutter, Santana registered that Quinn might have been enjoying the make out session a little too much for a straight Catholic girl - not that she was complaining mind you. Santana wasn't an expert, but she was pretty sure if she was this turned on after a few minutes with Quinn and she had never felt anything remotely resembling this feeling with any boy, ever - she was into girls. Santana wasn't surprised when she heard herself groan into Quinn's mouth as the pace of the kiss picked up again. She was surprised however when Quinn's hands slowly travelled from behind her neck, down her bare biceps and then began gently brushing up and down her sides - Santana instinctively bit down on Quinn's bottom lip aggressively,

"OW!"

Quinn exclaimed breathlessly pulling away completely and moving as far away from Santana as she could without falling of the bed,

"Oops..."

Santana wasn't going to apologize because she really wasn't sorry,

"Ugh - Jesus S, at least Brittany didn't bite!"

"Quinn Fabray, did you just make out with a girl and then use the Lord's na- wait. What, WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!"

**FLASHBACK (YESTERDAY-THURSDAY)**

_Quinn had already been doing some soul-searching of her own. The train-wreck that was New York had left her feeling like total crap. It was her fault though, and that just made her feel worse about the whole situation. But she had a plan, Quinn loved plans - they gave her drive, they gave her purpose. But first, she was going to do something either completely stupid or completely brilliant. She stood outside the familiar red door waiting patiently for it to open,_

_"QUINN! It's been too long - when where you last here, would you like a drink? I just made pasta!"_

_"Hi, Lisa, I was actually here on Monday - you made cakes. No actually I just wanted to speak to Brittany - is she home?"_

_Quinn could see multi-coloured paint streaks down Mrs. Pierce's face, a clear indicator of why it took her so long to come to the door,_

_"Oh, yes, she's in her room packing. I'll just let her know you're here... Brittany, honey - someone at the door for you!"_

_Shouting the last part, Brittany's mum danced away from Quinn and as she made her way back the the art room she called over her shoulder,_

_"Shout if you girls need anything!"_

_Quinn made her way up the stairs going back over her little strategy, she felt like Emma Woodhouse - except she planned to get her Mr. Knightley without any trouble whatsoever. That comes later, she reminded herself and focused on the task in hand. She walked into Brittany's room with confidence and smiled down at her friend, who had began setting up a little tent inside her suitcase for Lord Tubbington,_

_"Hey Quinn.."_

_The greeting was so devoid of emotion and so un-Brittany like that Quinn felt her heart slow a little bit, she bounded over to the blonde and enveloped her in a tight hug, which Brittany returned gratefully burying her head under Quinn's neck._

_"I wish I could feel better.."_

_Brittany whispered, Quinn wasn't sure if it was directed at her or whether she was just thinking aloud, either way it made her even more determined,_

_"Hey Britt, what did you and Santana do when you got upset?"_

_Quinn knew full well the answer to the question she had asked, it was all part of the plan..._

_"We, um - talked? Then we like, made out, or sometimes she'd lick-"_

_"Okay, I think I get the picture B.."_

_Quinn interrupted as calmly as she could. Brittany had a tendency to take things a bit to far and as much as she loved the two girls, she really did not need a run down of their sexual adventures,_

_"So, you want to feel better right?", Brittany nodded pouting slightly, "Then, why don't we try cheering you up?"_

_Actions speak louder than words, so Quinn got straight down to it - pouncing on Brittany who made no move to stop her. Brittany was kissing back more out of habit than anything else, after a few seconds though the reality of what was happening set in,_

_"Quinn, stop."_

_She pushed Quinn lightly on the shoulders and huffed out a sigh,_

_"I don't want to kiss you. Not that you're a bad kisser or anything. I just don't feel like kissing anyone. Except, well, you know who.."_

_Quinn tried to hide her smile, but she didn't really have to worry as Brittany was fiddling with the bottom of her tank top. Quinn had gotten pretty much the reaction she'd hoped for - phase one was complete,_

_"She's not Voldemort you know B, you can say her name.."_

_"I.. It hurts too much..."_

_Quinn's smile quickly disappeared and she almost joined in when Brittany began to lightly sob. Quinn pulled Brittany in so tight she found it hard to breath, this was the reason she'd made the plan. She couldn't stand seeing Santana unhappy, but if anything effected more than unhappy Santana - it was crying Brittany. It gave Quinn that horrific gut-wrenching feeling, like when she was 7 and she had seen the neighbors kitten being hit by a car._

_"It's going to be okay Brittany, I promise, okay? It's all going to be fine..."_

_Quinn had started to cry, but was trying her best to conceal it from Brittany - keeping her cheek firmly pressed to the dancers head,_

_"You don't know that.."_

_Brittany choked out, the sentence was muffled and strangled,_

_"Oh yes I do."_

_Quinn's voice which was shaky and uncertain only seconds ago, was now strong and unwavering._

**PRESENT DAY**

"Tell me you didn't Fabray, or I swear to God - I will rip those pretty blonde hairs from you head one by one!"

"You called me pretty.."

Quinn was toying with Santana, trying to get a rise and it was working extremely well,

"You have no right! What is wrong with you! You know exactly how I feel, who the fuck are you!"

Santana had stood up and was towering over Quinn,

"Don't be so childish, you two aren't even together - and if you recall, you were just kissing me..."

"That's completely irrelevant!"

Santana's shriek had reached a ridiculous octave as Quinn noted that Santana was actually at her most eloquent when she was pissed. Quinn decided to put phase 3 into motion,

"It's actually very relevant. Anyway, you want to know what Brittany said about you - or are you just going to stand there trying to look intimidating all afternoon?"

"I still can't believe you did this to me - you kissed the girl I'm in love with!"

"Love? Really? Because you're sure not acting like it - you know what she said to me when we were talking about you? Well not much actually because couldn't even say your name, couldn't even say your name because it was TOO PAINFUL!"

Quinn shouted the last part at her, hoping to finally knock some sense into the girl. When Santana's eyes glazed over and she began arranging her features into her 'I don't give a shit about anyone or anything' mask, Quinn almost reached out and shook her violently, maybe that would wake her up...

"Get out of my house." Santana's voice was shaking with rage,

Quinn sighed as she heard the door slam shut behind her - just missing her backside.

She began the long walk through the park back home thinking to herself; plan kiss-Brittany-to-make-Santana-jealous-then-kiss-Santana-to-help-her-come-to-terms-with-her-sexuality-and-also-to-give-her-a-reason-to-bring-up-the-brittany-kiss-so-Santana-would-go-insane-and-catch-the-next-plane-to-texas-and-get-her-girl-finally needed some new phases, and perhaps a new name.

Plan get-Mr-Knightley however, was most definitely on. Tomorrow, Quinn allowed herself a small smile as she passed Rachel's house.

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><p><strong>Erm - I'm not really sorry at all for the Jane Austen reference because I'm a bit in love with her. But for those who haven't read 'Emma', she is basically this huge meddler and trys to fix all her friends up; it goes terribly wrong in pretty much every sense and she ends up spending the whole novel ignoring her own heart (Mr. Knightley) it's all good in the end though... If you want a proper summary just Google it! Or read it if you wish, I recommend it!<strong>

** Oh and if you haven't already guessed - Faberry.**

**I slipped Harry Potter in there as well, I'm terrible ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Note: I'm really sorry if anyone was waiting for an update, I sprained three fingers in my right hand and I couldn't type. It was really frustrating because I'd already written this chapter down on paper! Sorry again!**

**Anyway, here it is - I hope you enjoy it! Thank you very much for reading, it's so nice of you all :)**

**Reviews would be lovely, as I've mentioned previously this is my first go at anything like this - so any feedback is just brilliant ;)**

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><p><strong>THE NEXT DAY (SATURDAY)<strong>

Santana couldn't believe she was actually about to do this. She stood on a familiar street in front of a not so familiar door. She needed this, she clenched her jaw and reminded herself she needed to take the next step. She'd taken a good look at herself after yesterday and realized she still needed to to speak to somebody about everything that was happening. Her parents weren't an option - she was not ready to handle that disaster waiting to happen yet. Quinn was also out of the question as Santana still wanted to seriously injure the girl and didn't really feel like a stint in jail, no matter how brief - it would sort of put a spanner in the works. Though taking some of her aggression out on the blonde did cross her mind a few times yesterday when she was working out her next step. Then there was therapy, which Santana considered for all of 20 seconds. So with all that, there were only really two people that she knew would be of some assistance, well - hopefully. Although Santana hadn't spoken to either of her possible future advisors, she was positive they would at least hear her out - I mean they had lived this shit. She inhaled sharply and then knocked quickly so as to keep from turning away and completely chickening out. Granted Santana wasn't expecting a great welcome, considering whose house it was, but when the door did finally open the welcome she got caused her to stumble and land flat on her ass and Santana never fell over. Ever.

**FLASHBACK (ONE HOUR PREVIOUSLY)**

_Quinn sat patiently on the bed and watched as Rachel paced in an erratic fashion up and down the lengths of her room. Rachel's frown was deep and her eyes were full of confusion - so Quinn took the opportunity to look around the room, it wasn't like she'd never been in there before - she just hadn't been in there long enough to take everything in. The walls were yellow, Quinn thought it was perfect. Yellow represents brightness, intelligence and joy - on the other hand it also represents criticism and over-organization. Quinn smiled at the apt choice of wall colour and wondered whether Rachel was aware of it. Her musings were interrupted when Rachel spoke for the first since she coldly welcomed her into her home,_

_"I don't know who you think you are, Quinn-"_

_Why did people keep saying that? She knew who she was, she was Quinn Fabray - a Quinn Fabray who was extremely enamored with the angrily ranting girl who had stopped pacing and was now stood pointing her finger dramatically towards Quinn's face,_

_"Honestly! Do you think you can just stroll into my home and spring this extravagant romantic gesture on me and expect me to fall into your arms like the end of some second-rate Romantic Comedy?"_

_Rachel huffed, she may as well have had steam coming from her ears Quinn thought with a small smile,_

_"Rach, you haven't even opened the box yet... It could be a dismembered head for all you know..."_

_Rachel grimaced slightly at suggestion, but let it slide,_

_"Rach now is it, Quinn? Not RuPaul, or Man-hands or Treas-"_

_"Seriously, Rachel? When was the last time I called you by anything other than your name?"_

_Quinn's interruption left Rachel flustered for a mili-second or two before she composed herself and continued,_

_"Be that as it may, I'm afraid I cannot receive this cryptic token from you - I'm sure my BOYFRIEND Finn, would not appreciate my acceptance of whatever it may be.."_

_With this, Rachel set her features into a defiant expression and placed her hands on her hips,_

_"Look - I don't expect you to do anything, or forgive me for walking away when you told me you loved me-"_

_"Excuse you, don't twist my words. I think you'll find the word 'love' wasn't mentioned once in the referenced conversation-"_

_"Okay, okay - well, I'm sorry for leaving you hanging when you admitted you had romantic feelings for me.."_

_Rachel looked away at the last part - Quinn could only guess it was out of embarrassment. It just made her feel worse and so much more determined to make things right,_

_"I should have stayed, but I was understandably in a state of shock - I didn't have the courage to stay and tell you that I feel the same way. Look, I know you. I'm also not stupid. Finn is a sweet guy, but I know that you're settling, he can never give you what you need. You need someone you can love and someone who deserves your love. I see that you don't love him, you may have at one point, but not anymore. That person isn't me right now and I get that, I don't deserve it, but it can be - I want it to be. I want to be that one person who deserves to be loved by you, it's a tough ask, but I will never stop striving to be that person.."_

_Quinn realized she was giving Rachel a run for her money on the rambling front, and she was pretty sure not all of that made sense - but she had done what she had set out to do, tell Rachel she wanted her too. Rachel slumped down to her floor, she had been studying Quinn's face throughout her little speech and couldn't find even a trace of malice. Instead of replying, Rachel opened the nondescript box that had been given to her on Quinn's arrival, she took out what looked like a scrapbook and opened it slowly. Quinn had been working on said book since they had finished school, dedicating most of her time that wasn't going towards getting Santana's life sorted to the book. The front cover was merely Rachel's name in beautiful script with Gold Stars bordering the edges, Quinn knew metaphors were important. As Rachel began to flick through her mouth dropped open in surprise and tears began to form, making her eyes glitter as she looked up into Quinn's nervous face,_

_"...You, you did all of this?"_

_Quinn nodded and attempted to lighten the mood,_

_"I'm quite the calligrapher, and quite the stalker.."_

_Rachel only shook her head in disbelief, a few tears rolled down her cheeks - not that she noticed. She was astounded, each page had professional looking photographs of her performing - every single performance of the past year. Quinn had been very busy, tracking down anyone and everyone who was at Sectionals, Regionals and Nationals and sweet-talking them into giving them any photos they had taken during the performances. She also has quite a vast array she had discreetly taken herself of Rachel's performances in Mckinley, she'd chosen the best of what she had obtained over the past couple of days and edited them beautifully. She then compiled the book, putting the pictures in and underneath hand-writing the most meaningful lyrics of the song Rachel was singing in the photo. It had taken pretty much all of her summer break so far to complete but like she had mentioned previously, she knew Rachel - she knew that the sentimentality of the gesture would mean a lot more to her than if she had gone to a jeweler and bought her a necklace. Quinn's plan didn't really account for the time after the gift giving so she wasn't really sure what to do next. When she looked back at Rachel, still engrossed in her scrap-book she decided it would probably be best if she left her to it. She stood up swiftly and began to ghost past Rachel who Quinn felt had no idea that she was leaving, that was until a soft hand gently tugged at her wrist. Rachel was using Quinn's arm as a support as she pulled herself of the ground, hand never leaving Quinn's now tingling wrist. Rachel's other hand cupped Quinn's cheek confidently, her thumb lightly stroking Quinn's cheekbone. Before Quinn had a chance to process what was happening Rachel had pecked her quickly, their lips brushed for a second, the feather-light touch was all it took for both girls to crave more._

_"..Finn"_

_Quinn breathed out, it wasn't really anything she wanted to think about right now - but she wasn't about to give him more chair-kicking ammunition and cheating was wrong, Right? All thoughts of the boy vanished though, as Rachel shook her head defiantly brown eyes holding green ones as she lent in again. It was so hard for Quinn to think about morals when she was this close the the object of many of her fantasies over this past year. As soon as their lips touched a second time, Quinn needed more - she moved her hands from her sides and knotted them through Rachel's brunette waves, pulling the small girl in closer. The lips melded together, and the kiss turned from chaste to heated almost instantly. Both of Rachel's hands had moved, the one that was on Quinn's cheek to begin with had moved to the nape of her __neck, and the hand that was on Quinn's wrist was now gently trailing up and down Quinn's side doing nothing for Quinn's now almost none-existent self-control. Rachel pulled away causing Quinn to groan in disappointment, but as Rachel moved and began nibbling Quinn's earlobe the groan continued but now signaled arousal rather than disappointment,_

_"That...is...the...most...romantic...thing...anyone...has...ever...done...for...me"_

_Rachel whispered in between kisses, bites, licks,_

_"Now let me do something for you.."_

_Rachel's husky, sultry voice and what she was currently doing to her neck was making Quinn crazy - but she tried to ignore the fire in her abdomen and how wet her underwear was as she asked,_

_"Rach, are you sure?"_

_Rachel stopped the attack on Quinn's neck and looked up to meet her eyes, Quinn saw Rachel's dilated pupils and an expression Quinn was sure was mirrored on her own face. It was a look of want, of need. For the first time Quinn initiated the kiss, thier tongues came together in unison and began moving against each other - languidly at first then more forcefully. Quinn bit down on Rachel's lip without even thinking about how much she'd hated it when Santana had done it to her, but judging by the light grunt and the way Rachel pulled her tighter so that their bodies were practically one, Quinn guessed she had liked it. The hot and heavy kiss went on with moans from both parties getting louder and louder until Quinn began to feel light-headed and was forced to pull away for fear of fainting. Quinn had ended up against the wall and had no idea how she got there, she also saw that Rachel's bedside lamp had come of the table and was currently on the floor - how had she not heard that? She thought to herself in amazement. The lamp was forgotten though as soon as her eyes found Rachel's again, all she could think about now was how her eyes glittered, and how awesome her lips looked after they'd been kissed,_

_"You are so beautiful.."_

_Quinn knew it was cliche and unoriginal - but her mind wasn't on forming poetic phrases at the moment, they were on other things..._

_"Not as beautiful as you, my darling.."_

_Rachel replied smiling widely. Quinn was about to protest but suddenly found her mouth otherwise engaged, she wished Rachel wouldn't do that. When Rachel's hands found Quinn's hips and pulled them towards her own Quinn forgot about being mad and concentrated on remembering how to breathe. Rachel's tongue was amazing, it was making Quinn wonder how amazing it would be to have her tongue doing things to other places, and also why she hadn't been doing this since New York - oh yeah that's right, because someone was a huge coward, Quinn thought angrily to herself. She again forgot her anger, her mind now on how brilliantly sculpted Rachel's ass was as she reached under her skirt and cupped both cheeks aggressively and how the moans of pleasure that came from Rachel made Quinn want to keep her hand on there forever. However, Quinn was forced to remove her hands from her new favorite place when Rachel practically ripped her t-shirt of her, Quinn really had no explanation for the noises she made or the way her hips almost knocked Rachel over when Rachel's hands brushed over her hardened nipples. Quinn was about to grab Rachel's hand and re-attach them to where she needed them, but that was before Rachel began un-buttoning Quinn's jeans. Okay, maybe there was another place Quinn needed Rachel to be more than on her breasts and she was definitely making her way there. Quinn's erratic breathing became uncontrollable when Rachel began to slowly tug her jeans down. Quinn almost screamed when Rachel stopped pulling of her jeans, just when Quinn was about to ask her what the hell she was doing Rachel stood up and looked Quinn in the eyes, before gently cupping Quinn's crotch,_

_"This is all because of me?"_

_Rachel asked slowly running her index finger back and forth against Quinn's soaked underwear. Quinn could only nod - not trusting anything coherent to come out of her mouth,_

_"That's hot.."_

_Rachel leaned in and whispered the shortest sentence Quinn had ever head her utter Quinn's ear - it had the biggest effect on her though. The way Rachel leaned in caused her finger to press just that little bit further against Quinn. Quinn couldn't do anything but whimper at this point - she needed more, she needed Rachel inside her - she was about to voice her thoughts when she heard a knock on the door. Rachel moved away from Quinn quickly, causing Quinn's body to quiver at the loss of contact._

_"..That will be Peter, I ordered Pizza a short while before you arrived..."_

_Rachel's voice was still husky and it made Quinn really, really hate Peter. Rachel began to make her way downstairs before Quinn stopped her, pulling her jeans up quickly and buttoning them as she almost shouted,_

_"I'll go!"_

_Rachel was stunned at the sudden outburst and so failed to notice that Quinn was still topless until Quinn had made it down the stairs and she saw the garment on her bedroom floor. Quinn ran to the door, getting away from Rachel seemed to be the only way to calm her down enough so she could think straight again - unfortunately she hadn't cleared her mind enough to look down and see that she was a bit too over-exposed to receive Peter the Pizza man. That is, until she opened the door to someone who definitely wasn't Peter._

**THE PRESENT**

Santana was still reeling, the last thing she expected to see was a tousled and topless Quinn Fabray answering the door to Rachel Berry's house,

"What. The. Fuck!"

was all Santana could manage as she picked herself from the ground, brushing herself off,

"Quinn!You aren't wearing your top, I'm terribly sorry Pet-"

Rachel had come bounding down the stairs and had stopped suddenly when she saw Santana Lopez on her front porch. The three girls stood there - matching expressions of horror on their faces. It was Quinn who was first to react - which was probably due to the fact she was still topless,

"Rach, go back upstairs - I need to speak with Santana. Alone.."

She took her top from the clearly flustered girl and lightly stroked her arm before nudging her in the direction of the stairs. Rachel started to walk away, looking back all of 5 times with bewilderment before ascending the stairs to her bedroom. Quinn quickly pulled her shirt on and shut Rachel's door behind her, turing to face a uncharacteristically silent Santana,

"look - it's not what it looks like.."

Quinn began, knowing her feeble line would at least bring out some reaction from Santana, which it did,

"Oh please, you can't lie to me - plus you both have sex hair. Who would have thought it, Berry doing the dirty on Finn... I'm sure he'll be as surprised as me when he finds out who with..."

Santana let a hint of disgust seep into her tone, not disguising her current attitude towards her former friend,

"Okay Santana listen to me. This may seem like some big joke to you - but peoples feelings are involved, punish me all you want - but don't to this to Rachel.."

Quinn voice was pleading but hard at the same time, Santana let out a humorless laugh,

"Oh yeah - like I give a shit about the dwarf's feelings.."

"You may not, but I know for a fact Brittany would be upset if Rachel got hurt in anyway - especially if it was because of something you did."

Quinn stepped back, fearing a violent outburst from a clearly fuming Santana. Of course Quinn would play the Brittany card, she's a clever bitch sometimes, Santana thought to herself. Of course a heartbroken Rachel would upset Brittany, a heartbroken anyone would upset Brittany and Santana's job was to make sure she did everything in her power to keep that from happening. Santana wasn't going to be that person - not that she was letting Quinn know that anytime soon, Santana would let Quinn stew in her own guilt and worry for a while,

"We'll see..."

Santana turned on her heel in a practiced manner and stormed away from Quinn. It took Quinn a good few moments before she allowed herself a breath, she was about to head back inside when she began to re-evaluate the situation,

"What was she even doing here?"

Quinn asked no one in particular, more puzzled than ever. But then she remembered where she was - one problem at a time, she thought to herself with a sigh.

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><p><strong> I've read quite a few Faberry-centric stories were Santana knows about everything and it's probably more plausible, however - oblivious Santana is so much more fun to write ;)<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Note: I wrote this chapter ages ago, I just had to tweak it a bit to make it fit in with the story. I hope you enjoy it guys and thank you so much for sticking with me if you have!**

**Reviews please, thank you ;)**

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><p><strong>MONDAY<strong>

Rachel stood nervously by her front door, alternating between fidgeting with her fringe and wiping her clammy palms down the little black dress she had purchased on the advice of Kurt, who wasn't to be argued with when it came to fashion. They had gone shopping yesterday after Rachel revealed her plans for a Glee party whilst her Dad's were out of town. Rachel really didn't want all of the Glee kids drunk in her house once again, but she needed to end things with Finn and see Quinn again - this seemed to her the only plausible option. She and Quinn had agreed to hold off until she broke up with Finn - whom she hadn't actually seen or spoken to since last Friday. Rachel was all to happy to accept these terms and was wanting to do it sooner rather than later so she certainly wasn't nervous about that. She was however, anxious to see Quinn for the first time since Saturday. She had been worried ever since Quinn left her house after they'd discussed Finn without so much as a hug - Rachel was worried that she'd been too forward, that she'd scared Quinn of ever wanting to be Romantically involved. To keep herself from freaking out she was replaying Quinn's speech in her head, she had also finished looking through the scrap-book which had been abandoned for the most part on Saturday as Rachel's hands were otherwise engaged. Rachel shook her head and looked back down at her dress, just because she was wearing it didn't mean she was at all comfortable - the plunging neckline revealing a little too much in the boob area for Rachel's liking. But Rachel really didn't want to offend her friend and as Kurt was attending tonight's little shindig, she had no choice but to grin and bear it. The first to arrive was Puck, Rachel smiled at his predictable t-shirt and jeans combo as he approached with Lauren following close behind.

"Well, doesn't my Jewish princess look smoking tonight!"

Puck launched himself towards Rachel and plucked her from the ground with ease, gaining a startled shriek from the hostess,

"Noah! Put me down this instant!"

Rachel growled in protest, giving Puck a light smack on the back of his head to re-enforce her point. But it took Lauren's intervention to make Puck put her back down,

"Yes Puckerman do as she says, oh and go get me a drink while you're at it!"

Puck mumbled something about a slave driver before wiggling his eyebrows expectantly, Rachel sighed and pointed to the stairs,

"All of the alcohol is down in the Oscar Room-"

She'd barely finished before Puck let out a cheer of satisfaction and practically fell down the stairs in his haste to get to the beer. Lauren began to follow after giving Rachel a small nod and ruffling her hair in greeting,

"Berry.. You do look pretty good."

"Um, thank you Lauren?"

Rachel nodded back a little shocked at the compliment and began straightening her now messy hair. She was interrupted by a quick succession of uneccessarily loud knocks,

"You are an hour and a half late.."

Rachel said as she opened the door,

"Yet; I see no sick on the doorstep!"

Santana retorted scowling. Rachel began a trademark lecture about punctuality and Santana's lack of it, explaining that she'd given Santana an earlier time than everyone else to ensure she experienced everything a second Rachel Berry party had to offer. Santana was about to cut her off rudely when her eyes reached Rachel's exposed cleavage. Berry really did have a great pair, she should wear this dress everyday then maybe she wouldn't be so annoying, Santana thought to herself...

"My eyes are up here, Lopez!"

Rachel clicked her fingers and Santana was instantly scowling again when she looked up to see a smug Rachel smiling brightly,

"Hey. Just because I'm keeping you're dirty little secret don't think you have the right to be second naming me - it's still Santana to you Berry!"

She barreled past Rachel almost spitting out the last few words. She wasn't actually angry, more annoyed with herself - but she is only human, and Rachel looked hot.

The rest of the Glee club trickled in slowly, until everyone but Quinn was down in Rachel's Oscar Room. Santana sat hugging her knees to her chest at the back of the stage avoiding everyone and watching everything. She could see an oblivious Finn trying to dance with Rachel who was keeping one eye on the staircase, clearly on edge. Blaine and Kurt were sat together on the couch, Kurt with his legs casually draped over Blaine's knees - their street clothes were colour-co-ordinated and had quite clearly been chosen by Kurt. They were just sat staring at each other lovingly and Santana had to look away from the sweet display quickly. She continued her sweep of the room, Lauren and Puck had quite obviously moved passed their abstinence phase and were doing nothing short of dry humping against Rachel's washing machine, that was quite disgusting. Santana moved on to where Tina was sneaking discreet glances Artie's way who was sitting on his own and had been for the past 5 minutes with Puck otherwise occupied. Santana felt sort of bad for Mike who was content in his own little world just staring adoringly at Tina, she also couldn't help but feel a bit for Artie sat on his own. She stood up and was about to go and put the boy out of his misery when she was met with Sam with Mercedes in tow.

"I, um - well I kinda need to talk to you Santana?"

It came out more like a question than anything else, Santana sighed - after everything why were people still so scared of her? She'd dated Sam and he still couldn't talk to her without stuttering like a baby,

"Spit it out, Trouty Mouth.."

Santana knew the once offensive term she had coined had now become more of a term of endearment among the Glee clubbers. Santana liked Sam, he was a genuinely nice guy once you got past the weirdly accurate impressions and the Na'vi shit.

"Well, I just wanted you to be the first to know that... Well, not the first to know - coz I sorta told Mercedes - you know, because we're kinda dating now. Oh, and Kurt and Blaine know as well.. I'm not sure how. But anyway what I'm trying to say is, well..."

"Karofsky came onto him Santana!"

Mercedes cut in placing her hand supportively on her boyfriends upper arm. Despite herself, Santana found herself laughing at Karofsky's idiocy - stopping quickly when she noticed Sam and Mercedes perplexed expressions,

"Oh, yeah - I don't really care. That was over a while ago.."

Santana left out the part about beards. She started to walk over to the couch area but soon noticed that Tina had somehow found a way a way to include Artie in thier conversation. Good for him, Santana thought to herself sneering as she made her way up to the bathroom. She just wanted to get away from all the couples - I mean really, since when did the Glee Club get togethers become date night?

Santana took a deep breath before splashing her face with cool water in an attempt to get rid of the pink tint to her cheeks, it was ridiculously hot. She looked up slowly finally confronting her own profile in the mirror, she didn't like what she saw. Instead of the hard stare of once popular cheerleader and HBIC, she saw a scared little girl - to afraid of other people's opinions to be with the one person she truly loved. Santana stormed out of the bathroom determined to forget the face she just saw in the mirror and began drinking like her life depended on it. By the time Quinn finally arrived everyone was pretty buzzed, aside from a clearly wasted Rachel who screamed,

"BABY!"

as Quinn walked down the stairs, much to everyones confusion. It was ignored for the most part though as people went back to their previous activities. Now that Santana knew, the sexual tension between Rachel and Quinn was so obvious she kicked herself mentally for not noticing sooner. Quinn's first act was to pull Rachel away from Finn wordlessly and onto the dance-floor. Rachel in her drunken state was all to willing to dance with Quinn, even when it turned into nothing more than a touch-fest between the girls Rachel wasn't sober enough to care that the 'dancing' they were doing was quite obviously much more than two girls having fun on the dance-floor. They ended up in much the same position they were in before Rachel had begun to strip Quinn in her bedroom on Saturday, they're bodies pressed tight against each other small moans coming from both Rachel and Quinn. Santana was watching, transfixed and, she was ashamed to admit, a little turned on. The room wasn't even spinning anymore, it was just a blur of colour and shapes, which made Quinn and Rachel blend into one being as she continued to stare at the them. She was vaguely aware of Finn lolling his head on the couch next to her, blathering on about how brilliant his girlfriend was as she started rubbing herself up against Quinn only meters away from them. Ugh, why did Quinn get what she wanted? She was a bitch too. She didn't deserve to have everything, Santana thought to herself in disgust. The alcohol was really effecting her judgement and she couldn't help but feel jealous as she watched the two girls doing whatever the fuck they wanted with Rachel's current boyfriend still in the room. Fuck this,

"She's cheating on you!"

Santana mumbled into her plastic cup, completely forgetting the plea Quinn made on Saturday. Finn obviously didn't hear because he hadn't stopped talking - so Santana repeated what she'd said trying to keep the slurring to a minimum,

"SHE'S CHEATING ON YOU!"

Finn heard Santana this time. In fact, the whole of the room did - Santana hadn't intended her voice to be so loud but she just wanted to shut Finn the fuck up.

"What!"

Was all Finn could manage, someone had turned off the music, making the room crackle with tension. Not that Santana noticed, she had had a lot to drink.

"God wake up you idiot. You're precious little star has been fucking Fabray behind you back.."

Santana wasn't giving any thought to why she had agreed to keep it a secret in the first place, she wasn't giving anything but forming coherent words any thought to be honest. The room had fallen silent, Rachel was to shocked and too drunk to do anything but stand with her mouth agape, looking repeatedly from Quinn to Finn. Finn looked just as confused, until he looked towards Quinn - who couldn't hide her guilty face fast enough.

"Oh that's fantastic. Well done Quinn, you've done it again - is ruining my life something you enjoy?"

Finn screamed and stormed up the stairs, without so much as a look towards any of the stunned guests. The room was silent until the sound of tires screeching away from the house was heard, Rachel slumped to the floor and began to sob uncontrollably. Quinn who had been frozen to the spot sprung into action, running over to the broken girl, soothing her with a strong hug,

"I..didn't..want..to..hurt..him..I..should.."

Rachel said, the words muffled into Quinn's shoulder as she attempted to calm the crying girl down,

"shhhhh.."

Quinn had moved onto stroking Rachel's hair away from her soaking face when Puck spoke,

"Wait, so it's true?"

Quinn just glared his way, giving him the answer he needed - he added under his breath,

"What I'd pay to see that..."

When Rachel had calmed down enough to sit down without falling flat on her face Quinn moved towards Santana with a steely look in her eyes,

"Get. Up."

Quinn commanded in a voice that actually scared Santana a little bit, even so - she didn't make a move to leave the couch,

"I said, GET UP!"

Quinn grabbed one of the straps on Santana's green dress and pulled her up violently,

"You are vile Santana Lopez, what kind of person gets their kicks from making people feel like this!"

Quinn had pulled Santana close to her face and with her free hand tugged at Santana's chin, directing Santana's face towards Rachel who was sat on the floor, trying her best to keep from crying again. After a few seconds Quinn pulled Santana's face back to her own and for the first time ever, Santana was scared of Quinn - she'd seen pissed Quinn, angry Quinn and frustrated Quinn but she had never seen a look of pure hatred on her friends face, it sobered her up somewhat and she was about to apologize to both Rachel and Quinn for ruining the night when Quinn continued,

"Do you want to know something?"

Quinn hissed tightening her grip on Santana's chin, most likely leaving a bruise,

"The reason you and Brittany aren't together isn't because she's waiting for you to sort everything out, it's because nobody could ever be in love with you, you cold-hearted, spiteful, BITCH!"

Quinn shouted the last word and the sound resonated around the empty room. Everyone was waiting for Santana to freak, to tackle Quinn to the ground and beat the living crap out of the girl. No one expected Santana to walk away calmly, turning back to whisper towards Rachel,

"I'm sorry.."

As Santana made her way back up the stairs the Oscar Room remained silent, it stayed that way until Mercedes broke the silence,

"Well , that was some heavy shit, right there..."

Blaine and Kurt nodded in unison, Puck made his way over to Rachel and assumed Quinn's old position, soothing her as she began to cry again. Quinn was already regretting her outburst, especially after Santana walked away. She knew full well Brittany was totally in love with Santana, and that Santana wasn't any of the things she's accused her of being well, most of the time. She had been hurt and angry and had just wanted to wound Santana like she'd wounded Rachel - she knew for a fact she'd over-stepped a mark with Santana and it made her feel like crap. She saw that Rachel was well tended to and made her way up the stairs to keep Santana from wallowing in self-pity and to stop her from convincing herself she'd never be with Brittany. She realized half way up the stairs that she may have just destroyed any progress Santana had made and any chance of her and Brittany finally sorting everything out, she increased her pace until she was running through Rachel's house.

Santana couldn't do anything but cry as she walked towards her car. Quinn was totally right about everything, as usual. Why was she so blind? Why couldn't she see that she would never be a good enough person for Brittany no matter how much she loved her. She could go on with her journey of self-discovery all she wanted, but it wouldn't change anything because she'd always be that person Quinn had described. Something in the back of her mind was telling her she shouldn't even be considering driving home, but the events of the night had lifted the hazy confusion that the alcohol had caused and just left a numb and cold Santana who just wanted her bed.

Quinn had just reached Rachel's door when she heard a car pull away from the house,

"SANTANA!"

Quinn shouted hoping to stop the girl before she drove away completely, but when she got outside she could just about make out the headlights to Santana's car speeding around the corner. She slowed down and began the familiar walk to the Lopez house when she heard a sickening smash coming from around the corner.


	7. Chapter 7

**Note: I'm so sorry for how long this has taken! Especially after how I left the last chapter, I didn't mean to leave you guys hanging :) It's pretty short as well, in comparison to the previous few chapters but I've had a busy few days and this was quite a difficult chapter to write! thanks for waiting if you have and I hope you enjoy! I just want to thank you all again for reading and I hope you liking reading it as much as I am writing it ;)**

**I still have a lot of ideas for this story, so I'm not sure how long it's going to end up being - I will let you know when we are nearing the end of the fic if you so wish though!**

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><p><strong>TUESDAY<strong>

_She must have been dreaming, because she definetaly wasn't awake. But everything hurt like a bitch - things weren't meant to hurt in dreams were they? She didn't see bright lights or heavenly visions, all she saw was black. As the pain became unbearable, her only wish was that the blackness take her completely._

All Quinn could think about was how this was all her fault. If she hadn't lost it like that and said those stupid things that she didn't even mean, Santana wouldn't be here. She couldn't face anyone, the Glee kids had come and gone, even Finn who glared angrily at both Quinn and Rachel and spoke only to Santana's parents. Mr. Schue and Emma had been called in the middle of the night - everyone had gone back home when Rachel had assured them that they would stay and call all of them if there was any change. Mr. Schue was the last to leave, offering his support to Santana's parents and having a hushed conversation with Rachel in the hallway before he left. It was probably to find out what had gone on, Quinn didn't care - all she could think about was her best friend in the emergency room and how she was in there because of her. She had been pacing like a sleepwalker for the good part of an hour now, all Rachel could do was look on worried and try to keep Santana's mum from breaking down in the waiting room again. Santana's father was muttering in Spanish under his breath and Rachel was repetitively stroking Mrs. Lopez's hair trying to sooth her, but it only reminded Quinn of what had happened a few hours ago, causing her to launch at the receptionist yet again,

"What the hell is happening! Why won't anyone tell us what's going on!"

The red-head behind the counter just smiled calmly, obviously used to this type of behavior and replied,

"As soon as we now of the patients condition, we will let you know.."

Quinn just stormed away growling in frustration and clenching her fists so hard her nails drew blood from her palms,

"Quinn..."

Rachel placed both hands either side of the jittery girl's face, Quinn looked up and met Rachel's eyes for the first time since they'd arrived at the hospital. Rachel couldn't help but react when she saw the look in Quinn's bloodshot eyes,

"Don't Rach, nothing you can say will make this any better - this is all my fault. I hurt EVERYONE just by existing. You should get away while you can, I don't think I could bear it if I ended up hurting you.."

Quinn was trying to pull away, but Rachel only clung tighter,

"I'm not leaving you Quinn. Not now, not ever - remember that okay? I didn't wait for you this long just to let you go."

Rachel shook Quinn lightly and kissed her sweetly, not caring that this was their first public kiss or the fact there were some people giving the couple dirty looks - all she cared about was making Quinn feel better. When Quinn looked up she saw a familiar determined look in the beautiful chocolate eyes, there was nothing Quinn could do to stop the floodgates from opening for this first time since she'd found Santana's body slumped over her steering wheel.

"Mr and Mrs Lopez?"

Quinn's head jerked up from Rachel's shoulder as Santana's parents nodded and shook hand with the Doctor,

"Hello, my name is Dr. Teaf - I tended to your daughter. Now, Ms. Lopez has been moved out of surgery where she was treated for; severe hemorrhaging, cracked ribs, a broken leg and a collapsed lung. All of which have been dealt with accordingly. However, when your daughter's car collided with the lam-post she sustained a serious trauma to the head which unfortunately included injury to the brain. We have done our best and have successfully managed to treat all of Ms. Lopez's other injuries, we can hope and pray but I'm afraid to say that we cannot confirm a full recovery, or any recovery at all due to the nature of the injury to her head."

The Doctor looked sympathetically at the weeping woman in front of him and continued,

"Santana hasn't regained consciousness and is therefore in a comatose state. I'm extremely sorry but I cannot give you anymore news until she wakes up, if she does at all."

The Doctor didn't want to be pessimistic, but he had to be honest. He'd seen too many parents given false hope by Doctors only to find out hours later that their child would never wake up. Of course, Mr. Lopez understood, he'd given this speech before - he knew the odds.

"Thank you for everything, Doctor."

Mr. Lopez shook his hand, after a small nod the Doctor added,

"She's in the ICU right now, you may go and see her if you wish - I will escort you. I should warn you though, she has only recently undergone surgery so it's not a pretty sight."

Mr. Lopez put on a brave face for his wife and lead her down the corridor after the Doctor, he couldn't let on that he was more scared than he'd ever been in his life - his wife didn't need to see that he was breaking down inside, fearing the loss of his baby girl.

**LATER**

Rachel lead Quinn through the hospital firmly, giving Santana's parents a sympathetic smile as they passed them in the corridor - Rachel couldn't help but notice the look of despair on Mr. Lopez's face and that Santana's mother just looked broken beyond repair, a look that was eerily similar to that of the one Quinn's face.

"The Doctor said you can go in now, the nurse is just outside.."

Rachel gripped Quinn's arm lightly in support as they made they're way to the ICU. When they reached Santana's room Rachel hovered outside hesitantly,

"I'll stay here okay? Unless you want me to come in?"

Rachel had unknowingly lowered her voice to a whisper, Quinn shook her head,

"I need to do this alone..."

Rachel tried to catch the girls eye but Quinn's stare hadn't left the ground for a good half an hour,

"I'll be right out here, okay? I'm here if you need me-"

Rachel had to stop herself from telling Quinn that she loved her, now definitely wasn't the time. So she settled for a bone-crushing hug, as she pulled Quinn even tighter she begged her to understand, she whispered,

"I'll always be here..."

Rachel felt Quinn nod against her shoulder and as she pulled back, they're eyes met - Rachel could see fear, anger and hurt but she thought she detected a slight glimmer of hope. Quinn looked away quickly and opened the door to Santana's room. It took all of Quinn's strength to stop herself from collapsing into uncontrollable sobs on the floor, Rachel didn't need that right now - and she'd come to speak to her best friend. Still, the sight of the girl in front of her meant that a few stray tears escaped. Santana had never looked more vulnerable, the skin that was visible through all of the casts and bandages was bruised and grazed and multiple stitches covered her face and lips. Quinn had been expecting bad, but she couldn't have prepared herself for this. It was like it was someone else, it wasn't Santana Lopez lying in front of her, it was a damaged little girl. Quinn shook her head trying to rid herself of any morbid thoughts, she tried to focus on the positives - she is still breathing, and her heart it still beating. A little voice in the back of Quinn's mind was asking, but for how long? She dismissed it as best she could and began to make her way over the the vacant chair which had been placed by the side of Santana's bed. Quinn drew in a shaky breath, trying to find the courage to speak - she had clasped one of Santana's alarmingly cold hands in between both of hers and was trying desperately to find the words she knew she had to say. After a few moments of silence aside from the steady beat of Santana's heart rate monitor, Quinn caught sight of Rachel through the window in the door, she looked exhausted - pacing back and forth biting her nails and casting tentative glances towards Santana's bed every so often. Quinn allowed herself a small smile as she watched Rachel, just the sight of her calmed Quinn down enough to allow her to think straight,

"Hey S... I know you can't hear me - but I just wanted to talk to you okay? I just wanted to let you know that I didn't mean any of it. You know, deep down, I didn't mean it - there is nothing anybody could do or say to make me believe that you are a bad person. Because I know you, I've known you since we were kids, sure you can be a bitch sometimes, but so can I. That's why we're such good friends, you know? We get each other. That's why I know, I know that you're going to make it through this because I'll kick you ass if you don't.."

Quinn laughed hollowly at the emptiness of her threat and continued, silent tears flowing freely down her cheeks now,

"This is all my fault, so I don't deserve any favors, especially from you. But I need you to come back to me, I need you. I never meant to hurt you, ever - because I love you, you're my best friend. Brittany, she needs you too - you know that, you've always known that. Because seriously, I can't imagine two people more perfect for each other. There are so many people San, so many people who need you to pull through. Besides, when me and Rach get married - you're going to be Maid of Honor, okay? So when you and Britt get married, I expect you to return the favor.."

Quinn was rambling and she knew it, she just wanted Santana to wake up and be pissed at her for ranting about weddings, or to hit her again, anything. But Santana didn't stir, and Quinn could barely see her now through her tear-filled eyes,

"I NEED you, you can't leave me.."

Quinn almost shouted in desperation, Rachel rushed into the room and was by Quinn's side in an instant,

"Baby?"

Rachel could only hold Quinn as she fell into her arms, passionately crying. After a while the crying subsided, Quinn had fallen asleep in Rachel's comfortable hold. The only sound in the room aside from the shallow breathing of all three girls was the steady, almost mocking, mechanical beep of Santana's heart.

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><p><strong>I'm pretty sure that it's only family members that can see patients in the ICU, but you know, poetic license is a babe like that ;)<strong>

**I couldn't think of suitable names for Santana's parents, none if them felt right - for now they shall remain Mr. and Mrs. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Note: Some confusion, I have no idea why it updated with Chapter 6 again when I published Chapter 7 - I'm sorry if that annoyed any of you!**

**Quick update because I was in a writing mood yesterday/today ;) Hope you enjoy it and, again, thank you so much for reading! **

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><p><strong>ELSEWHERE<strong>

Brittany was on a plane an hour after she had gotten the teary phone call from an emotional Rachel. But it was taking to long, each second that passed made Brittany more and more anxious, she was fidgeting with the hem of dress eyes darting from the window to the back of the chair in front of her to her mother. When the plane did eventually take off after what seemed like hours Brittany only grew more agitated.

"Honey, you need to relax, this is the fastest way to get to her..."

Lisa like any mother would be was worried about her daughters emotional state, she had been off-pace ever since they had arrived in Texas - but Brittany had never been so quiet. Lisa's frown only deepened when Brittany's nodded once, her leg continuing to bounce up and down,

"Brittany, you need to let me know what's going on in there - you can talk to me..."

Brittany looked into her mother's almost identical blue eyes and saw nothing but concern, Brittany didn't want to hurt her mum so she replied honestly,

"I'm so scared, mom.."

Brittany lent into her mother and Lisa hugged her tightly,

"I know sweetie, it's all going to be okay..."

As much as Brittany wanted to believe it, she couldn't convince herself that everything was going to be okay - and it just made her even more restless.

**LATER, AT THE HOSPITAL**

The first thing Brittany did after practically running through the hospital corridors was hug Santana's mother. Brittany couldn't imagine how hard it was for Santana's parents, she knew how she felt and couldn't fathom the emotions Santana's parents must be feeling.

"Brittany, I can't tell you how good it is to see you.."

Brittany had to hold back tears as she found herself smothered in the familiar embrace. After a few moments Brittany pulled back, questions buzzing round in her head. Santana's father was talking to Lisa so it fell to Mrs. Lopez to explain everything to Brittany,

"She...She had been drinking.."

Mrs. Lopez was trying her best to keep the tears at bay, but her voice was still raw with emotion, Brittany listened attentively - also trying her best to hold it together,

"She crashed and... She's in a coma, honey - you know what that means?"

Brittany nodded in confirmation,

"She's been unconscious ever since they.. they pulled her from her car... All we can do is wait..."

Mrs. Lopez's voice was barely a whisper. Brittany nodded again, not trusting her own voice,

"Quinn and, Rachel - is it? Are with her now, would you like to see her?"

Brittany nodded firmly for the third time and followed the slow walk of the zombie-like Mrs. Lopez to Santana's room. When Brittany got to the door, Mrs. Lopez gave her arm a supportive squeeze and left wordlessly. Brittany stood outside the room for a good few minutes, mentally preparing herself. When she finally went into the room, her eyes were immediately drawn to the chair beside the bed, the bed that she was desperately trying to avoid looking at. Rachel was sat with her legs dangling off the chair, her arms rested gently on Quinn's thigh, both hands lay palm down on Quinn's bare legs in what seemed like a protective gesture Quinn was curled up and her side was pressed into Rachel's front, her head nestled under Rachel's chin. She had her arms wrapped tightly around the brunettes neck, the Quinn was balled up made her seem a lot smaller than she actually was. Both girls were asleep, but neither looked peaceful - their day old make up had smudged and caked around their faces and their hair was in disarray. It was clear to Brittany that they hadn't been home yet, it was also clear now why Quinn had been crying on the last day of school - and Brittany had thought she'd never understand what had happened that day. Brittany wondered if Santana knew as well... Santana. Brittany closed her eyes and willed herself to find the courage she needed to open them once again. She let out an involuntary gasp when she did finally look towards the hospital bed. Brittany had to remind herself to be strong, strong like Santana would be. As she made her way over to the bed she saw Quinn stirring, the movement made Rachel's eyes dart open,

"Rach?"

A groggy Quinn opened her eyes and sighed in relief when she saw Rachel looking down at her,

"Hello, and how may I ask, did you find the sleeping arrangement? I found it most comfortable myself - in fact, I don't think I want to sleep without you in my arms from this day forward.."

Quinn smiled despite herself - the romantic in her surfaced around Rachel, especially when she heard things like that. But the smile didn't reach her eyes - she hadn't forgotten where they were. Rachel, of course, understood perfectly and placed a soft kiss on Quinn's cheek. It was only then when Rachel looked back up that she noticed a new addition to the room. Rachel almost knocked Quinn over in her haste to get to Brittany. Rachel threw her arms around her waist and squeezed hard. Brittany rested her cheek on top of Rachel's head, comforted by the physical contact. When Rachel finally let go she smiled sadly up at Brittany and turned to Quinn who was looking down at the floor once again,

"I think we should give Brittany some time alone, shall we vacate the room?"

Quinn nodded, still staring at the floor. Rachel nodded again and gave Brittany another sombre smile,

"Q? Look at me.."

Brittany knew why Quinn hadn't greeted her or so much as looked at her, Rachel had explained why Quinn was blaming herself for the accident on the phone,

"None of this is your fault and I need you, so please, Quinn - look at me.."

Quinn couldn't refuse Brittany so she looked up slowly and reluctantly, her eyes were brimming with more tears as the guilt threatened to take over again,

"It is Britt, you don't understand - I said some awful things-"

Brittany interjected before Quinn could make her point,

"I'm sure she'll kick you ass for what you said, now go and get some sleep, please? You're kinda scary looking..."

Brittany's sorry attempt at a smile almost broke Quinn's heart, but she nodded - knowing that Brittany needed this time alone. Rachel held out her hand and Quinn took it without hesitation, they're fingers inter-locking as if they'd been shaped for each other.

"Guys?"

Both girls looked back at the same time,

"When you get married, can I be best woman?"

Rachel quickly turned to Quinn, expecting to see alarm and worry. But Quinn only smiled, nodding enthusiastically. Rachel let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding and tugged gently and Quinn's hand, indicating that they should leave. When the door clicked shut behind them Brittany turned back to Santana and tried to avoid looking at anything bruised, or grazed, or broken. She focused on Santana's eyelids, imagining that she was looking into the eyes she knew so well - it helped her start talking,

"Q and Rachel are together now San, at least it sure seems that way... But you probably already figured that out, I was going to ask you about it but.. well, you know. I think they're cute and I know you don't really hate Rachel, and you always want Quinn to be happy, so we're good with them right? Well, I'm being Best Woman at the wedding, do you think they're can be two? Because you'd want to be there, for sure. By the way I hope you're not mad, I know you said don't call... But you got hurt, and I needed to see you - so don't be mad, okay?"

Brittany was crying freely now, she gripped Santana's hand so tightly that her own hand was going slightly white,

"Remember when we first met? I was really scared, because I got lost on my way to class, I remember being really scared... I thought everyone had gone home - I thought I was going to have to sleep in school like the teachers, I didn't want to, I just wanted my mom. But then you came, do you remember? I do, you said 'Hey Blondie, why are you sitting on the floor - get you ass up before you freeze to death'.. I was kinda scared, again, because you had a shouty voice, and you shoes were kinda scary too. But when I saw you properly, I mean when I looked at your eyes, I wasn't scared at all - I didn't feel cold, or lonely or lost like before, I felt right. I love you Santana, I know I've said it before, but I don't think you got it. I love because you're my best friend, I love you because you make me feel like no one else makes me feel, I love you because you're sweet lady kisses are the best kisses I've ever had and ever will - but I think that I love you most because you found me. I was lost and you found me, whenever I was scared or lonely or confused after that, no matter what I just knew you'd be there. That's why you need to wake up San, because what do I do when I get lost - and you're not here to find me...?.."

Brittany tried her best to carry on, to keep talking, but every time she went to open her mouth she realized that Santana wouldn't answer her, she wouldn't answer her questions or help her out when she couldn't find the word she was looking for, she wouldn't even smile back at her. So Brittany eventually stopped trying, she brought Santana's hand up to her lips and peppered light kisses along Santana's grazed knuckles. Wiping her now drenched face, Brittany stood up and with one last longing look towards the unconscious Santana, left the room.

**THE NEXT DAY (WEDNESDAY)**

Brittany had fallen asleep in Mrs. Lopez's lap, after Brittany had left Santana's room she had gone to the waiting room and had made it her duty to distract Santana's mom. They talked for a good few hours about a lot of things, including Santana. Brittany hadn't intended to end the conversation so soon, she liked talking to someone who knew them both so well, but tiredness soon took over and before she knew it she was snoring lightly in the arms of Santana's mom. Lisa looked on from the chair opposite, smiling as she watched her daughter rest for the first time since she'd gotten the phone call. Quinn and Rachel were back in Santana's room, they had been present however, when the police spoke to Santana's parents a few hours earlier. Neither girl could believe it at first when the officer had relayed information he'd gotten from a witness to the crash who had been walking his dog. Santana had allegedly been speeding, nothing too extreme - but it was fast enough to cause the witness to watch the cars progress. Apparently Santana had been in full control of the car, that was - until a cat ran across the road. The car had then swerved and the driver lost control, it then picked up speed as it hit the curb - the car continued at that speed until it met with a nearby lamp post. Quinn was shocked enough to forget about being guilty for the time being, she had settled on angry, She was pacing in the small space at the foot of Santana's bed, talking to no one in particular, whilst Rachel sat in the chair, scared that Quinn was about to burst a blood vessel,

"Seriously? A cat? She's here because of a damn cat! I thought it was another car! Or a person, or something! Honestly? I don't even believe it, that idiotic so-called 'witness' is just making it up, some sick and twisted joke-"

Quinn was stunned into silence and Rachel's jaw almost hit the floor, both girls looked towards the bed when a small, disjointed voice announced with confidence,

"Brittany loves cats..."


	9. Chapter 9

**Note: I forgot to mention; Brittany's little speech in Chapter 8 is sort of inspired by the song 'You Found Me' by Kelly Clarkson**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter! I appreciate the Reviews so much guys, so thank you for taking the time to write them! They mean a lot :) Again, cheers for reading, more to come! :)**

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><p>The stand-by nurse ushered Rachel and Quinn out before either of them could react properly. They were told to go back to the waiting room for the time being, which is where they began making their way to after a few moments of not being able to move let alone walk. After the shock registered Quinn allowed herself a genuine smile for the first time in days,<p>

"She's awake... She's awake!"

Rachel regarded Quinn carefully, she wasn't sure what to expect - going by how many emotions Quinn had displayed during their time at the hospital the reaction could range from hysterical laughing to uncontrollable sobbing.

"... I am ecstatic of course, but I think we should start to make our way back to the waiting room. Santana's parent's may have been informed by the Doctor, but-"

Rachel was cut off abruptly, Quinn had launched herself at Rachel - causing her to crash quite violently against the wall of the corridor. Quinn's lips were firm and strong against Rachel's and she couldn't help but kiss back. Rachel's arms automatically snaked around Quinn's waist, wanting more contact - more Quinn. When Quinn's tongue slid across her bottom lip slowly, Rachel pulled away, her mind finally winning over her body - but she did keep her arms wrapped around Quinn's body,

"As much as I enjoy kissing you, Quinn Fabray, I'm not certain that you're in the best of emotional states currently, this is also not the most appropriate venue..."

Both of Rachel's points were proven when Quinn began to cry softly and quietly, and the Doctor at the end of the corridor coughed and looked pointedly at the couple,

"You're right, as usual. Don't you ever get sick of that?"

Quinn asked winking and wiping the fresh tears from her cheeks. Rachel sighed, took Quinn's hand away from her face and replaced it with her own, she gently caressed Quinn's cheek - drying it in the process,

"As a matter of fact, no I don't. Thank you for the concern though.."

She winked back as playfully as she could, Quinn laughed lightly - surprising herself. Rachel smiled broadly, taking Quinn's hand and squeezing gently,

"Words can't express how glad I am that I stopped being such a chicken and I made that book, I just thought you should know.."

Quinn said looking at Rachel, blushing slightly she looked down at the floor bashfully. Rachel took Quinn's chin with her free hand and gently forced Quinn's face up so that their eyes met,

"Well, words can't express how glad I am that you stopped being a chicken and made that book.. I have to confess that after New York, after you walked away-"

Quinn clenched her jaw in anger, why was she such an idiot! Rachel felt the tension in Quinn's jaw and continued quickly,

"I thought that I had just fabricated all the looks and the signals, but that day you came to my house - I just knew straight away. I'm actually rather glad you left it so long, it added to the tension, and we all know I love a good drama..."

Quinn relaxed slightly, at least it was all out in the open now.

"Also, I got the first glimpse of the romantic in you Quinn, and I have to say it was definitely worth the wait.."

Rachel punctuated her point with a quick peck on the lips, it made Quinn's heart flutter insanely.

"Come on! We need inform everybody!"

Rachel tugged impatiently at Quinn's hand and practically sprinted of to the waiting room with Quinn in tow, following blindly trusting that Rachel would get them to where they needed to be.

**LATER**

Santana was tired, and she was sore. She was in so much pain, it was like being sat on constantly - but with burns and aches as well. It took all her strength to keep from screaming every time she moved in the slightest. But she was awake, and that was what mattered. After scaring the shit out of Quinn and Rachel, which was pretty fun she had to admit, the nurses and Doctor and come had gone - prodding sensitive areas, asking endless questions and just being generally annoying. The only useful bits of information she got from her Doctor was that they had ruled out serious brain damage from their scans and that she should make a full, but very slow recovery. She had been put on strong painkillers and wheeled off to a different room, she was still being 'monitored' though and every time she thought she might drop of into an uncomfortable snooze a nurse would come in and smile sweetly at her. She was happy she was alive and everything, but the constant pestering and the horrific pain, and probably the pain medication they had her on meant she was in bad mood. She was only frustrated further when her parents came in, after the initial 'I'm so glad you're okay, we were so worried' and the crying and hugging, Santana's father went into a huge lecture about drink driving and responsibility and how he deals with cases like this all the time were the kid isn't so lucky. Santana knew he was right, and she was stupid for even thinking about driving drunk - but she was in so much pain and she sort of felt she had paid for her mistake, so why was she getting this lecture? She had to remind herself multiple times that they were her parents and they loved her and that was the only reason they were being so persistent and harsh with her. But even so she was close to kicking them out herself when the Doctor called them out to answer a few questions about the details they filled in when Santana was admitted. Her mother gave her a kiss on the un-bandaged part of her forehead and smiled, repeating,

"I'm so glad you're okay.."

Santana nodded slightly returning the smile, her lip began to throb so she stopped smiling and squeezed her mothers hand, her father was about to reach for door handle when her turned back towards the bed and spoke softly,

"We love you very much, okay? Always remember that Santana."

Santana was quite shocked, her father wasn't one for expressing himself - he smiled and escorted his wife out of the room, leaving Santana alone in her room. Not that the peace lasted that long, the door cracked open only a few minutes later - Quinn and Rachel entered slowly, holding hands.

"What? Are you guys like joined at the hip now? Because, seriously Fabray, hobbit doesn't look good on you.."

Quinn was too distracted by the fact Santana was talking to take offence, Rachel likewise. Santana's voice was still scratchy and disjointed, but it was her voice - and that's all Quinn had wanted to hear ever since the crash.

"I know I'm hot, but if you're just going to leer at me then you should take a seat.."

Santana's mood had lightened slightly, seeing Quinn and heck, even Berry reminded her of the world outside the hospital, and of Brittany. Santana's thoughts were interrupted when Quinn spoke up,

"I just came to say that you every right to never speak to me again, I just want to say something before you do. I want to say that I'm so sorry for doing this to you, I'll probably never forgive myself for it - and I never meant any of those things a said to you. Well, that's it really, come on Rach-"

"Woah woah, hold up Fabray. Answer me this: Did you drink a bottle of vodka and then drive me into a lampost?"

Quinn hadn't looked Santana in the eye once, she mumbled as she answered,

"Well, no - but you would never have left in the first place if-"

"Ah ah ah, but it was me who got you angry enough to all those things, wasn't it?"

"Well yes, but-"

"No, no more buts, if I wasn't such a crap friend none of this would have happened, the blame falls squarely on my shoulders, and so help me God Quinn, if you so much as hint at it being your fault again, I will cut you."

Quinn looked up into Santana's eyes. Instead of the steely gaze she so often found when Santana was masking her emotions, she saw a genuine glint - her eyes were almost pleading, there was no malice or hatred, only hope. Quinn couldn't let go of her guilt completely, it would take a while until that happened - but Santana had gone a long way to starting the process. Rachel smiled as she watched the wordless exchange between the two girls, hoping that it was enough for Quinn.

"So, we're good?"

Quinn asked tentatively,

"Mmm, I'll have to think about it - I mean you still kissed my girl, but I guess I do see were you were coming from, a bit."

Quinn shot a warning glance at Santana, worrying that the whole kissing Brittany thing would make Rachel mad, but Rachel only smiled and sat down next to Quinn, keeping their hands firmly locked together. Quinn looked back at Santana, Santana smiled slyly at her,

"So, have you two had sex-"

"Santana, I hardly think that's an appropriate conversational topic, it's also none of your business!"

Rachel interrupted, to embarrassed to think about offending a bed-ridden car-crash survivor,

"Ha, feisty Berry I like it. So from that I assume the answer is no, don't worry - Q will give me all the gory details when you do finally cave.."

Rachel was rendered speechless when Quinn only laughed and winked in response. She pretended to be offended after Quinn had finished her little laughing fit - she pulled her hand away, pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. But honestly she was just glad Santana was well enough to be making such pointed remarks, it seemed she was back to her old self. Quinn was also content, her relationship with Santana meant a lot to her and she was glad that after everything, it was back to the way it should be.

"Anyway, I heard my mum say something about Brittany, is she here? I really need to speak to her. Almost dying has given me a new perspective on, well.. things.."

Rachel snapped out of her fake mood immediately and looked knowingly at Quinn, Quinn glanced back - worry now replaced the happy expression she was wearing only moments ago. Santana may have been drugged up, but the last thing she was was unobservant,

"What? Is she okay? You're not telling me something.."

Rachel sighed, Quinn nodded once lightly,

"She was indeed at the Hospital, she and her mother flew back as soon as they heard about you accident.."

"So? What, spit it out Berry!"

Quinn interjected,

"Don't speak to her like that!"

"Jeez Fabray, over-protective much? Just tell me what's going on!"

Quinn frowned deeply and replied,

"Brittany went home, Santana - as soon as she heard you'd woken up, she just got up and walked out without a word to anyone."

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><p><strong>Sorry for being such a bitch with the cliff-hangers, I promise I'll update just as soon as a can ;<strong>)


	10. Chapter 10

**Note: Quick update, because I love you all that much :)**

**All of your reviews are greatly appreciated and they make me very happy! So do keep them coming... However;**** I'm not going to reveal anything about what is going to happen, you will just have to have faith in me ;) **

**Love you all, my beautiful readers!**

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><p>Santana tried not to react too much, she knew Quinn and Rachel didn't need to see her any worse off than she already was, she merely nodded and diverted the conversation to a different topic,<p>

"So you should both go home and like, get showers - you like shit.."

Santana said stiffly, still obviously rattled,

"This is the thanks we get for practically living at the hospital!"

Quinn tried to lighten the mood, she playfully slapped Santana's hand with but Santana didn't even flinch. Quinn knew that Santana wasn't going to be great company until she saw Brittany - she had to get the girl back to the hospital.

"Although Santana didn't exactly put it delicately, she does have a point. Rach, you're boobs have been practically hanging out for a while now - not that I'm complaining.."

Rachel looked down and adjusted herself, huffing slightly in embarrassment,

"Come on, let's get you home... Santana, I'm so happy that you woke up - I don't know what I would have done if.."

"Yeah, well let's not go there, okay? Don't tell me you've gone all mushy now, Q.."

Quinn rolled her eyes and gave Santana's hand a squeeze,

"We'll be back as soon as we're cleaned up.."

Rachel nodded in agreement taking Quinn's hand,

"No hurry, you look pretty tired anyway, you should get some sleep."

"Now whose mushy?"

Quinn smiled at Santana and walked after Rachel who was already on her way out of the room, obviously eager for a change of clothes,

"I'm happy you're okay as well, Santana.."

Rachel added hesitantly as she reached for the door handle, Santana wasn't going to admit that she had been really glad to see Rachel so she settled for a casual,

"Yeah, bye Berry."

Quinn gave Santana one last smile, and followed Rachel out of the room. When the two had left, Santana was left alone with only her thoughts for company. Brittany actually being here was a good thing of course, but why had she left? Santana couldn't help but feel abandoned, even though she knew she had no right to feel like that. Brittany wasn't some boomerang, she couldn't just throw her away and expect her to come running back. But it still hurt Santana to think about Brittany not wanting to speak to her, she mustn't want to talk about them or anything if she left as soon as she woke up. Santana was only making herself feel worse, she had a whole speech planned, about how she didn't care anymore - she didn't care about the labels the talks the difficulty, she just wanted to be with Brittany. She was done soul-searching, the only outcome of her operation from Brittany aside from confirming her sexuality was a nasty car crash, the universe was obviously trying to tell her something. But none of that mattered anymore, because Brittany walked away. Santana pretended not to notice the tears streaming down her face as she realized she'd gotten exactly what she asked for.

**LATER**

"Are you sure?"

"Quinn, for the last time, my father's are still away on their cruise!"

Quinn was fiddling with her fingers nervously, sitting on the edge of Rachel's bed,

"But what if they cut their trip short? They don't know about me, or you, or any of this!"

"Honestly, you're such a drama queen Quinn!"

Quinn raised her eyebrow at the hypocritical statement but didn't make any comment as Rachel continued,

"Besides, both my father's are actually fully aware of the situation, well - they knew of my feelings for you, they don't, however, know about the latest developments.."

"So wait, they know? That you like me?"

"I think I made that quite clear.."

"Do they also know that this is the same girl that called you names and ordered numerous slushie attacks on you only last year?"

Rachel sighed, still sorting through the clothes in her drawers - she through some sweat pants and a tank top at Quinn and replied,

"Yes, Quinn, and before you ask another inane question - they're over it, just like I am, okay?"

Quinn nodded, surprised by how accepting Rachel's fathers had supposedly been about all of this. She wasn't surprised about Rachel though, she was to kind not to forgive.

"Now, I am going to use the downstairs bathroom to shower - you may use the one in my bathroom, take as much time as you need."

Quinn smiled and pecked Rachel on the lips as she moved towards Rachel's en suite,

"I'll be thinking of you.."

Quinn whispered into Rachel's ear, allowing her lips to brush against Rachel's ear lightly. She winked as pulled away, looking back she almost laughed when she saw Rachel rooted to the spot - mouth hanging open. Quinn was actually lying, she was trying her best not to think of Rachel whilst in the shower. Because Rachel was also in the shower, naked and wet. This really wasn't the time to be thinking along those lines, Quinn instead tried to distract herself with thoughts on what she should do about Brittany. She eventually came to the conclusion that the best thing to do was to go over the and just ask why she didn't go and see Santana as soon as she woke up, there had to be a reason. By the time she'd evaluated all her options and came up with a little questionnaire in her head, she had been in the bathroom for a long time. She quickly dried herself, again trying not to think about how Rachel's naked body had also touched this towel at one point. She really had to sort her priorities out, she shook her head tugging on the borrowed clothes, Rachel's sweats only covering her legs up to calves. When she re-entered Rachel's bedroom she saw Rachel lying down in he bed, spread out across the whole thing - face in a pillow. It was very cute, but Quinn had other things planned for tonight. She tapped Rachel's shoulder lightly, not caring that she was being a tad selfish, she was a woman on a mission,

"Rach..."

Rachel moaned sleepily,

"Tired, bed."

Quinn smiled at how cute Rachel looked when she was sleepy,

"Baby, wake up, I need to.. talk to you about something!"

Rachel sighed and mumbled something Quinn couldn't quite make out. Her toned legs were on show, and the almost matching tank-top she had on did nothing to calm Quinn down - it was quite clear through the thin material that Rachel wasn't wearing a bra... Rachel sat up and sat cross-legged - keeping her eyes closed she asked,

"What do you wish to talk to me about, Quinn?"

Quinn answered by pressing her lips to Rachel's, she built up the kiss slowly, it went from sweet and chaste to hot and heavy - Quinn was amazed how kissing Rachel could make her feel homely and safe, but then the next minute it could make her feel like she was about to explode with sexual frustration. Rachel pulled away first, slightly breathless,

"Good point, well made Quinn, but I really must-"

Quinn cut her off again, immediately entering her tongue into Rachel's warm mouth - it was met entusiastically with Rachel's own. When Rachel bit down on her bottom lip, Quinn's hands began roaming, starting at Rachel's hips and ending underneath her tank-top just grazing the underside of Rachel's breasts,

"Wait, stop."

Rachel pulled away, bringing her hands from the small of Quinn's back and using them to remove Quinn's,

"I'm so sorry Rach, I didn't mean to.."

"No, no it's okay - I really want to do.. that with you - just not tonight okay? We're not even officially together and I just really want it to be special, I'm sorry..."

Rachel began to move away but Quinn pulled her back,

"Hey, if anyone should be apologizing it should be me, I should have talked to you about this first. It's you're first time Rach, and it should be special, there's nothing wrong in wanting that. I promise, when you ready - I'll make it the best first time ever.."

Rachel blushed slightly but smiled up at Quinn,

"Thank you.."

Rachel said quietly, moving to get under the covers of the bed,

"Wait, wait, wait. I have a question I need to ask you... You need to look at me."

Rachel resumed her sitting position and looked at Quinn, playing with Quinn's fingers as the seconds passed,

"Rachel Barbra Berry..."

Rachel nodded, her eyes widening in frustration as Quinn dragged it out for effect, Rachel was possibly the most impatient person Quinn had ever met, she thought to herself smiling,

"Will you do me the honour of being my girlfriend?"

Rachel squeaked in excitement, almost throwing Quinn off the bed when she threw her arms around her, she pulled back to kiss Quinn sweetly, she then began planting kisses all over Quinn's face, in between kisses she replied,

"It..would..be..my..pleasure!"

Quinn laughed as she detached Rachel, keeping hold of her upper arms,

"As much as I enjoy being ravished by you Rach, we really should get a bit of sleep before we go round to Brittany's..."

Rachel nodded, lifting the cover up so that Quinn could get underneath. Quinn shuffled down in the bed, sighing contentedly when Rachel spooned her from behind. Rachel closed her eyes, relishing in the sent of her girlfriends damp hair, and just the feel of her body pressing into her front, Quinn's longer legs were bent and Rachel had straightened hers out so that the feet were tangled up,

"And why are we seeing Brittany, may I ask?"

"To ask her why she walked out of the hospital, and to get her to go and see Santana before she goes all 'I'm not good enough for her', again.."

"I see, playing the matchmaker are we?"

Rachel laughed breathily into Quinn's hair,

"Just call me a regular Emma Woodhouse.."

Rachel laughed, taking her arms from around Quinn's abdomen, she was about to protest when Rachel rolled Quinn onto her back and threw something at her,

"Hey! Just because we're official now, doesn't mean you can start abusing me like this.."

Rachel rolled her eyes, punched Quinn lightly on the arm and said,

"Just look at the book, Fabray."

Quinn was confused, but she did as Rachel said - fearing another punch. The moon light was enough for Quinn to make out the title on the obviously well-read, torn and worn book. It was almost identical to her own copy, in fact it even the same edition.

"You've read this!"

Quinn didn't mean to sound incredulous, she'd just never realized Rachel was a reader, especially not an Austen reader,

"If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.."

Rachel closed her eyes as she quoted the novel, Quinn only stared - how had she not seen how perfect Rachel was sooner? This was it, Quinn thought to herself, this was going to be the one that stuck. They settled back into bed, Quinn was still a little awestruck,

"Looks like I got my Mr. Knightley.."

Quinn mumbled to herself smirking,

"Pardon?"

"Oh nothing.."

Quinn replied, adding firmly,

"I know we've only just made it official, but for the record - i think I'm falling in love with you."

Quinn fidgeted nervously until Rachel's strong hands stilled her from behind and, in true Rachel Berry fashion, she theatrically repeated,

"If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more."

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><p><strong>This is a bit Faberry heavy, isn't it? It'll all equal out - don't worry... Besides, we all love Faberry ;)<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**Note: Thanks for sticking with me thus far guys, I do hope you are enjoying it - I only want to please you ;)**

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><p>When Quinn woke up she was a little confused at first about where she was, but as she went to get up and she heard a slight groan behind her, she remembered. She moved Rachel's arm slowly, and placed it back under the covers as she got out of the bed as carefully as she could. She took a few moments to watch her girlfriend sleeping and then smiled to herself before quickly throwing on a hoodie and some shoes that were lying by Rachel's bed. She needed to talk to Brittany as soon as possible, but she also didn't want to deprive Rachel of any sleep - so she decided to head out alone. By the time she had walked around to Brittany's house, it was no longer a ridiculously early hour so she knocked on the door and as always, waited patiently for someone to answer,<p>

"Quinn! It's so lovely to see you, do you want Brittany? She's in her room, I'm afraid she's not been very talkative since.. Well, you know..."

Quinn nodded and smiled at Lisa, who was clearly having a hard time with her daughter's uncharacteristic behavior,

"Don't worry Lisa, I'm sure she'll be fine.."

Quinn assured Lisa, hoping to get rid of the frown lines that seemed to be permanently etched on the usually jolly face of Brittany's mom. Lisa only smiled back weakly, and opened the door a little wider so Quinn could come into the house.

"She's up in her room.. I'll bring you two some snacks once I've finished clearing up..."

Quinn nodded in thanks, before making her way up the stairs to Brittany's room. She had never knocked before, she used to always just walk in. But Quinn didn't want to surprise Brittany when she clearly in an emotional state,

"Britt, it's me.."

Brittany came to the door immediately and hugged Quinn quickly, opening the bedroom door to let her into the room. Quinn noticed that Brittany's suitcase was still unpacked, and that it didn't look like her bed had been slept in. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw that Brittany had on the same the dress she was wearing at the hospital, Brittany looked exhausted. Quinn had to fix this mess and fast, she wasn't going to beat around the bush,

"Brittany, why did you leave?"

"Leave when?"

Brittany asked, furrowing her brow in confusion,

"The hospital! As soon as we said Santana had woken up, you just walked out.."

Brittany nodded along, as if it was obvious why she did it. Quinn just looked at her, waiting for an answer.

"Well, Santana didn't want me there. She said that she didn't want to speak to me... It was wrong of me to go there in the first place.. I just wanted to see if she was okay..."

Quinn almost slapped her own forehead, why did they both continue to do this to themselves! Quinn sighed exasperated and began,

"Britt listen to me, there is nothing Santana would have wanted more than to wake up and see you at her side... She wanted, she wants you there!"

Brittany just shook her head,

"No, she doesn't, she didn't!"

Quinn reached out and held Brittany,

"Please, just trust me - you need to go and see her..."

Brittany didn't look convinced, she didn't want to upset Santana or make her angry. She thought that she still didn't want to see her, she needed space, that much was clear to Brittany when Santana had told her not to call. So if she wasn't meant to call, she certainly wasn't meant to talk. But she did want to, there was nothing she wanted more than to be at the hospital 24/7, catching up on the hours they missed when they were separated, she missed her so much that she literally couldn't sleep. But she still wasn't sure whether her going to the hospital was what Santana wanted. Quinn studied Brittany, realizing that she'd done all she could without physically dragging her to the hospital, she sighed and let go of Brittany's arms.

"Okay, well - think about what I said, I'm heading back to Rach's now, to make sure she doesn't wake up and freak out because I'm gone..."

She stood up and left Brittany to consider what she had said, as she reached the door she turned back around,

"Love you B.."

Brittany looked up and smiled slightly,

"Love you too, Q.."

Quinn left when Brittany continued starring into space, obviously thinking hard about something.

**AT THE HOSPITAL**

"I swear to God, Puck - if you keep playing drums on my cast, I will get you ass kicked out of here so fast that you're mohawk will be left behind.."

Puck just smiled and carried on,

"Don't you have any place else to be?"

Santana was actually glad of the company, but after a while Puck sort of lost his entertainment value - and she was getting really tired,

"Well I do, but I'd rather be here.."

Puck said, it seemed genuine enough and Santana was actually kind of touched until Puck ruined it with a dirty wink,

"Hey, can I like punch this? Will it hurt?"

"Of course it will hurt, idiot."

Puck stopped drumming and started rambling on about Santana's car and how badly it was wrecked. Santana rolled her eyes, but at least she didn't have to respond, she closed her eyes and Puck's voice began to get further and further away until it was a light murmur in the background,

"Hey! Wake up!"

Santana growled angrily, she was happy to see Puck and all, but he was getting annoying and she was absolutely wiped - she just wanted to get some sleep.

"I appreciate you coming and everything Puck, but I think I'm about to pass out from lack of sleep.."

Puck nodded, he smirked back at her as he went out of the room, Santana supposed that was his way of saying he was glad she was okay. Her eyes fell shut just as soon as she heard the door close behind him, she was so tired that it only took a few seconds before she could feel herself dropping off, that was, until she could hear the door open again. Assuming it was Puck coming back to make some stupid remark, Santana kept her eyes closed and hissed angrily,

"If you take one more step towards this bed..."

"Sorry..."

Santana's eyes shot open when she heard a familiar soft voice coming from the other end of the room,

"No! Wait, Britt - come back! I thought you were Puckerman!"

She meant to sound urgent and pleading but it came out as more of a mumble, her mouth not able to form coherent words. Brittany understood though, she made her way hesitantly towards the bed. Santana just watched, it was almost as if everything around Brittany had gone blurry - so that she was the main and only focus. Santana blinked, thinking her vision might have been distorted due to lack of sleep, but what she saw remained the same. This was her chance to say everything she'd been waiting to say, to tell Brittany that this was their time, this was it. But she could hardly even open her mouth, the words of her previously well-prepared speech were just a jumble of letters and sounds in her head, and as much as she wanted to - she couldn't say anything at all. Santana concluded that it was a mixture of pure exhaustion, extremely strong painkillers, and seeing Brittany for the first time in days. Luckily for Santana, Brittany had something to say,

"You're mad at me for coming? You haven't said anything at all since I came in..."

Santana shook her head as firmly as she could, it hurt like hell but she needed Brittany to understand that all she wanted was her here.

"I want to say something before you do okay? San, I just want to say that - for right now, I'm just going to be here. We don't have to talk about anything important right now. I need you to let me look after you, and not worry about anything complicated, like you and me... For now. Okay?"

Brittany tried her best to get her point across to Santana, they didn't need to talk about their relationship right now, it was enough for Brittany to be close to Santana. Santana wanted to stop Brittany and tell her that there was nothing complicated about it, she wanted her to be here forever, because she loved her more than anything. But her body was her worst enemy, it wasn't letting form properly coherent words in her head, meaning all she could do in response was nod. Brittany nodded back, a ghost of a smile playing around her lips. Brittany closed the distance between them and held Santana's hand in her own, gripping tightly. Santana felt warm immediately, she didn't even no she had been cold until Brittany held her hand. The comfort and familiarity of that hand made Santana's eyes finally give up, the last thing she saw before she closed them was Brittany's concerned face looking down at her. For the first time in a while, Santana slept soundly and contently, knowing that Brittany was there at her bedside.

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><p><strong>This is pretty short, sorry! I hope you enjoy it all the same ;)<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**Note: I'm so sorry it's been so long guys! As you may know I've started working on another Fic, so I'm trying to juggle both - also I've just come back from Spain!**

**I promised my amazing friend this chapter and what it contains... So Sarah, Chapter 12 is dedicated to you! :)**

**Okay, sorry again for the wait - I really hope you enjoy, love you all, my beautiful readers!**

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><p><strong>THE NEXT MORNING<strong>

Santana woke up after the first good nights sleep she had in a while. It took a few seconds to remind herself what had happened yesterday, she looked around frantically when she remembered Brittany. Santana let out a small sigh of relief when she saw Brittany curled up in the chair next her bed. She looked down to see Brittany's hand awkwardly resting on the bed beside her - a few centimeters away from Santana's own hand. Santana was happy to just watch Brittany sleep for the time being, her blonde her covering half of her face. When Santana looked a bit closer, she could see that Brittany's brow was furrowed - her eyebrows pulled tightly together. A frown wasn't something Santana was used to seeing on Brittany, it was even worse that she was frowning in her sleep. Santana had only ever seen a look of peaceful serenity on Brittany's face whilst she was asleep. It pained Santana to know that all of this was probably because of her - Santana wanted anything but to be the cause of frowning for Brittany, she just wanted to see her happy, always.

"I'm sorry..."

Santana mumbled, reaching over slightly to brush some of Brittany's hair away from her face. Santana flinched back when Brittany's eyes flicked open almost instantly,

"San? Are you okay? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep!"

Brittany leaned forward worried, her voice heavy with grogginess,

"Britt, I'm fine, I'm being discharged soon, remember? I'm not suddenly going to slip back into a coma because you rested for a while..."

Brittany forced a small smile and nodded once, after a few moments of silence Brittany looked away from Santana,

"I just... Didn't want you to wake up alone.."

Santana grabbed Brittany's hand, tugging slightly to get Brittany to look back at her,

"I'm not alone B, I've got you."

Brittany averted her head again, she didn't want to complicate anything. She didn't want to create a situation that meant leaving Santana whilst she still needed looking after, Brittany didn't want to be sent away again.

"Kurt came by earlier, he'd really like to see you.."

Santana didn't want Brittany to leave, but then again she didn't want to keep her in the horrible, uncomfortable room for to long - she needed some rest.

"Do you think you could go and get him? I'd love to see him..."

Brittany nodded in affirmative, pulling her hand away from Santana's - already missing the contact.

"I'll be in the waiting room, okay? I'll come straight back in when you're done... That is, if you-"

"Yes...Please."

Santana cut Brittany off, Santana needed Brittany to come back, she was like the best painkiller ever. Brittany walked out of the room, she shot Santana a smile as she opened the door. As it shut behind her, Santana felt a rush of cold - she wasn't too sure whether it was in fact from the door closing, or that Brittany had left the room. Santana tried to distract herself by counting, she had gotten to 56 seconds when Kurt popped his head round the door,

"Is it safe to enter?"

Santana rolled her eyes, attempting to hide her smile of amusement,

"Of course. Idiot - what, did you think I was naked or something?"

Kurt danced into the room pulling a nervous Blaine in with him,

"Well, you never know!"

Santana glared at Kurt, still trying to hide her smile,

"Kurt. I'm in a hospital bed - I can barely move, why the hell would I be naked?"

"Like I said, you never know!"

Santana shook her head, giving up on the topic. She looked at Blaine who was standing uncomfortably behind Kurt almost hiding, Kurt had obviously noticed too,

"Blaine, could you please get me a coffee?"

Blaine nodded smiling at Kurt and mumbling before he left,

"I'm glad your okay, Santana - a lot of people were worried about you.."

Santana nodded her head slightly in thanks, but Blaine didn't see in his hurry to leave the room.

"You scared him!"

Kurt accused angrily, perching himself delicately on the chair,

"What did I do! I was just lying here! It's not my fault your boyfriend doesn't have any balls..."

Kurt looked as if he were about to launch into a rant, but her stopped himself, crossed his legs and smiled,

"I'm not here to fight, Santana - I came to say, despite what you may think, I'm glad that you're okay.."

Santana could here the sincerity in his words, she didn't doubt his feelings - she knew that Kurt cared about her, just like she cared about him. Although she was in a much better mood than she had been for a while, she still wasn't big on the whole lovey dovey thing so she merely nodded again and changed the subject,

"So... Have you finally caved and let blazer boy pop your cherry yet?"

"Santana! What is wrong with you, are you just obsessed with sex? Besides, that is none of your business!"

Santana snorted lightly at Kurt's wide-eyed, shocked expression,

"I'm going to take that as a yes.. I bet, that Blaine is an animal in the sack. I bet he likes it rough as well-"

"Hey! I'll have you know that Blaine is actually a very tender and gentle..."

Kurt interrupted angrily, half way through his sentence he'd realized what he'd done, his eyes went even wider and he slapped both of his hands over his mouth. Santana laughed loudly, the sound seemed alien even to her own ears. Her amusement was only heightened when Blaine chose that moment to walk back in. He looked at the still frozen Kurt then and the now almost hysterical Santana,

"What are you guys talking about?"

Kurt just closed his eyes and shook his head, his cheeks flushing as Santana replied in between giggles,

"Oh, nothing at all.. Sailor.."

Santana added a wink, Blaine seemed to forget his nervousness for the time being as he turned towards Kurt,

"Kurt! You told her! That stuff is private!"

Kurt removed his hands from his both and gestured wildly towards Santana, who was still laughing softly,

"I'm sorry, okay? But Santana is an extremely talented conversationalist!"

Blaine didn't look convinced, Santana tried to calm the situation - she hadn't wanted to get Kurt into trouble, no matter how funny she found his flailing,

"Oh please, like he had to tell me. It was so obvious - you practically screamed 'we had sex last night' when you walked in here...You're like animals in heat!"

Blaine seemed to calm down, Kurt beckoned him over and encircled him with his hand when he sat in his lap,

"Twice.."

Kurt whispered, making sure Santana was looking at him so that she could read his lips. She sniggered slightly,

"What?"

Blaine asked confused, Kurt patted his thigh and replied,

"Nothing, dear. Nothing... Oh, but speaking of 'animals in heat' - you should see Barbra and Quinn, I swear, if they don't do it soon, one of them is going to combust!"

Blaine nodded in agreement, adding,

"You really don't want to be caught in the same room as them for to long, the sexual tension is, well, ridiculous to be quite honest."

Santana smiled, that seemed about accurate, it would only be a matter of time,

"But if you want to talk about 'so obvious'..."

Kurt prompted Santana gently, Blaine interrupted after a few moments of silence,

"What? ... Oh yeah, the Brittany thing we were talking about!"

Kurt cringed and shook his head, Blaine practically jumped back when he looked back at Santana - obviously not too familiar with Santana's 'I will kill you in your sleep' face. Kurt who identified the face immediately pushed Blaine off him and quickly began to usher him out of the room, Santana heard,

"What did I do!"

as Blaine left the room, Kurt just shook his head, and told Blaine to wait for him outside, that he'd be right out.

"We're going to go now, I am glad you're okay Santana, seriously."

"Thanks, next time, maybe leave the Warbler at home.."

Kurt just shook his head in disapproval, but his smile betrayed his amusement. He walked the small distance towards the door and just as he reached for the handle he stopped and turned,

"Santana?"

"Hmmm?"

Santana was getting tired, again, she also wanted Brittany back. Kurt stared at Santana seriously,

"Get your girl for me, won't you? Before one of you does something stupid, again."

Santana smiled widely and nodded firmly,

"Oh don't worry, I plan to."

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><p><strong>I know, it's Klaine - don't get mad guys, they've helped!<strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Note: So sorry about the long wait again guys - busy dealing with stuff! We are nearing the end of our journey folks - I hope you like this chapter and again thank you for reading :)**

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><p>Santana was muttering to herself when Brittany hesitantly re-entered the room. With a weak smile Santana gestured towards the chair at her bedside. Wordlessly Brittany complied, and without even stopping to think she automatically reached out and held Santana's hand in her own.<p>

"Britt, we need to talk.."

Brittany shook her head, still convinced Santana would send her away again and that wasn't something Brittany could handle,

"I don't think we should."

Brittany whispered in reply, looking away from Santana,

"Please, I need to do this now, I've already wasted so much time!"

Brittany didn't say anything, she only kept her face turned away from Santana,

"Fine, you don't have to say anything - all you have to do is listen, okay? Just listen to what I have to say.."

Brittany nodded after a few moments of hesitation still looking away, fearing the worst her eyes were already filling up with tears. Santana let out a long shaky breath,

"Brittany, I love you - you need to look at me..."

Brittany stubbornly shook her head again, the movement causing the tears to spill over the edge and run freely down her cheeks - she didn't want another goodbye. Santana lent over as far as she could, a sharp shooting pain down her side meant she had to stop. She reached out her hand and placed it gently on Brittany's cheek - softly guiding Brittany so that she was facing her, still Brittany eyes were cast down, avoiding eye contact,

"Trust me..."

Santana's barely audible whisper was all Brittany needed to finally find the courage to look into her best friend's eyes. Santana kept her hand in place, lightly caressing Brittany's cheek, wiping away the tears. Santana closed her eyes briefly, when she opened them again she found everything she needed was right in front of her, looking into Brittany's eyes Santana felt home. All she had to do now was communicate that to Brittany without breaking down or chickening out. She took another deep breath, this one was much steadier,

"I never wanted to hurt you Brittany, I know that I did and it kills me, it kills me knowing that I was the cause of your pain - I'll never forgive myself for that. I thought I was helping, because ever since I told you that I loved you all I've done is made your life more complicated. I thought that if I wasn't in your life for a bit, or at all, it would help. I thought you'd be better of without me. I still think that you would be, you deserve better - but I've realized that I can't make that decision for you, it's not fair on either of us. I had a big stupid speech prepared, you know? About how sorry I am and how I need you to be with me, because without you by my side I feel empty, I don't feel like me - the me that I should be. But I don't want you to be influenced by my stupid ramblings, I want you to choose what's best for you because that's all I'll ever want for you. You know that I love you, I love you so fucking much that I can't picture my life without you in it. So I'll be sticking around until you don't want me anymore, even if it is only as an annoying and bitter best friend..."

Santana trailed off, ignoring the tears that were now steaming down her face, she watched as Brittany's eyebrows pulled together, a small smile appeared. Santana waited nervously for an sort of response, she was shocked when Brittany let out a small, loud laugh. She was about to ask what the hell was going on when Brittany closed the small space between them and grabbed Santana's face with both hands,

"How many times do I have to say I love you for you to get it? _this_ is all I'll ever need Santana, I love you."

Santana's heart fluttered as Brittany lent towards her, Brittany giggled when she heard the heart rate monitor beep erratically - leaning in further Brittany stopped a hair-width away from Santana's lips. Feeling Brittany's warm breath over her face and having her so close after all this time sent waves of warmth and what felt like electricity through Santana's body - she sighed contentedly remembering all the other times Brittany had done this exact same thing previously. When their lips did finally meet it was everything it was supposed to be. Brittany's soft lips moved against Santana's slowly and languidly - it was chaste and sweet and perfect. It almost felt like their first kiss all over again. Brittany pulled away after a few seconds - much to soon for Santana's liking. When Brittany laughed and pointed over to the machine in the corner (the beeps were now very fast and irregular) and Santana broke out of her Brittany induced haze long enough to notice her surroundings, she realized Brittany had probably stopped fearing for Santana's health.

Quinn and Rachel watched with huge smiles plastered on their faces when Brittany gave Santana another kiss in the form of a quick peck before sitting back down in the chair pulling it as close as it could be to Santana's bed and holding her hand,

"I am a genius."

Quinn announced smugly,

"Quinn, I don't think you can take credit for-"

"Shhh!"

"But Quinn, you didn't really do any-"

"Quiet time, Rachel."

Quinn interrupted angrily, turning away from Rachel slightly and crossing her arms over her chest aggressively. Rachel almost laughed at the childish gesture, instead she encircled Quinn from behind and kissed her cheek sweetly,

"What I meant to say was, congratulations darling - your phenomenal plan worked brilliantly and you are a fantastic and wonderful person..."

Quinn smiled despite herself,

"No need to kiss ass, Rach, but you do sort of have a point..."

Rachel slapped Quinn playfully, before resting her chin on the blonde's shoulder and hugging her more tightly. Quinn held onto Rachel's arms and began caressing them absentmindedly. They both continued to watch through the tiny window of the door as their friends relationship was reborn and all was as it should be, at last.

* * *

><p><strong>A few more chapters then we're done people, thank you so much for sticking with me, especially since the last two updates have been such a long wait! I'll try and give you the next one as soon as physically possible! <strong>


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